Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. —James 5:7

The early rains in Israel usually would come in late October or early November. The farmer would anxiously await these because they would soften the hard-baked soil for plowing. The latter rains would come in late April or May. These were essential to the maturing of the crops. If the farmer were to rush out and harvest his crops before their time, he would destroy them. So he had to wait.

As today’s opening verse demonstrates, James knew that patience also was an important factor in awaiting the Lord’s return. No crop appears overnight. Like farmers, we need to be patient and recognize that it takes time for growth to happen in our lives. However, the word patience does not speak of a passive resignation but of an expectant waiting for the Lord. This is not a casual, nonchalant approach. Rather, it is an excited expectancy, a readiness.

Some believers don’t live this way. They just passively bide their time. But the Bible tells us we should be actively preparing as we await the return of Christ: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11-12).

Let’s be sure we are living in a holy manner—and with expectant optimism and joy—as we patiently wait for Christ’s return.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. —Psalm 119:71

Did you know that everything you have experienced up to this point in your life can be used for good? That isn’t to say you haven’t experienced hardship. That isn’t to say bad things haven’t happened to you. But it is to say that God can work them out for good.

That includes the experiences of your childhood, whether good or bad. That includes your parents, whoever they may be. That includes your education, your present employment, or your lack of it. He will work all things together for good.

I went through hardship as a kid. I came from a home that was broken many, many times over, a home of alcoholism. I wouldn’t wish my childhood on anyone. But God used it to make me the person that I am.

In the same way, God has used what you have gone through to make you the person that you are. So let it be worked together for good, and accept God’s promise to you: “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). The phrase work together also could be translated “working together.” In other words, it isn’t over yet!

Maybe you are going through a process right now in which God is working things together for good. You don’t see it yet. But you are a work in progress. Be patient. You have God’s word on it: He will work all things together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose. God is ultimately working all things for good — not just the good things, but all things.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. —James 1:12

Not long ago, I had a conversation with two people after church.

One was in a wheelchair with a severe disability, and the other was speaking at length. I listened to her for a while, and then I turned to the woman in the wheelchair and said, “Well, how are you doing?”

“I am doing fine,” she told me.

But then her friend said that she actually had just had two brain surgeries to remove cancer, and they were successful.

I looked at this young woman with her disability, someone who had just come through such a difficult time, and I thought, And where is she now? She is at church.

I think of all of the excuses people come up with as to why they can’t make it to church. They have a cold, or it takes too long to get into the parking lot, and so forth. Yet here was this young woman who, despite her severe disability and recent surgeries, was at church, praising God and saying she is doing fine. I was touched by her example.

So I said to her, “You know, the Bible promises a special blessing and crown to those who have suffered in this life. I admire your faith. You are an inspiration to me.”

James 1:12 says, “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (NLT). It all will be made up to us in the life to come. Have you lost something to follow Jesus? Whatever losses you may have incurred for following Christ will be more than made up to you.

Make no mistake about it: Our life on earth isn’t all there is. There will be rewards for our faithfulness to God.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. —Job 23:10

God specializes in putting us in situations where only He can delivers us. That way, we can’t “thank our lucky stars” or compliment ourselves on our own cleverness or resourcefulness. Rather, we must say, “Only God could have done this.” The Lord wants to receive the glory for what He does. And He clearly says in Scripture that He will not give His glory to another (see Isaiah 42:8).

It reminds us of a man who knew something about suffering, whose very name, in fact, is synonymous with the word. I am speaking, of course, of Job. Here was a man who lost his children, his home, and everything he owned, including his health.

Job had a lot of questions, the same questions that many of us have. He said, “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me” (Job 23:3-5).

Job honestly admitted what he was struggling with. Then he added what would become a classic statement of faith: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Job was saying, “I don’t know what’s is going on. I don’t know why God has allowed these things to happen. But I know this: when I am tested, I will come forth as gold.” That was God’s objective for Job. And it’s His objective for you, too.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013