Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
SATURDAY, September 3
James 5:7-12,19-20. Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.
The people to whom these words were first written had been taught to expect the return of Jesus Christ. The apostles taught what they understood Jesus to mean. However, the years passed, and Christians endured hardships. Jesus did not return. They waited thirty years. Two thousand years later, we still wait.
Being patient is an admirable way to live when we have little or no control over the way things are. If being patient means being idle and helpless, life will be difficult and unpleasant. The example of the farmer suggests otherwise. While farmers wait for the rain and the harvest, they till the earth to make it ready for the rain and to control weeds. The crop is “laid by” when it is too tall to plow. Then the farmer finds other chores to do, and sometimes enjoys a rest. Chores and rest are both useful. The farmer is not idle or helpless while waiting for the rain and the harvest he does not control. This is a model of patience for us all.
I can well wait a century for a reader, since God has waited six thousand years for a discoverer.
--Johannes Kepler
PRAY for the Diocese of Sekondi (West Africa)
Ps 30, 32 * 42, 43; 1 Kings 12:1-20; Mark 15:33-39
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