“Be also patient, stablish your hearts:for the coming of the Lord draws nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest you be condemned; behold, the Judge stands before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience” (Jas. 5:8-10).

        James warns the disciples against walking in a complaining and quarrelsome spirit one toward another. If we are waiting for the Lord, the spirit is calm and contented; it does not get irritated with its persecutors; moreover, we bear with patience the ills of the desert, just as Christ did, bearing wrongs and committing Himself to God. We are contented and quiet, with a happy and kindly spirit, for kindness flows easily from a happy heart. The Lord’s coming will put everything right, and our happiness is found elsewhere. This is what Paul says in Phil. 4:5:”Let your moderation [or yielding spirit] be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” How real, how mighty and practical, was this expectation of the Lord! What power it had over the heart! “The Judge stands before the door.”

        Then he gives examples. The prophets were examples of suffering affliction and of patience, and we count them happy in their sufferings. They have not been alone; others also have endured and have been counted happy. For example, if we see one suffering unjustly for the name of Jesus, and he is patient and meek, his heart called out on behalf of his persecutors rather than irritated against them, then we recognize the power of faith and of confidence in the love and faithfulness of the Lord. He is calm and full of joy, and we say, “See how grace makes that man happy!”

                We, too, are happy when we suffer; at least, we ought to be so. “Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matt. 5:11,12). But it is one thing to admire others who are sustained by the Spirit of Christ, and another to glory in tribulations when we are in them ourselves. We need a broken will, confidence in God, and communion with Him who has suffered for us, in order to be able to glory in sufferings.