James began his letter by telling his readers to “consider it pure joy when you face trials” and he ends it by pointing out blessings that come from trials. The particular blessing James has in mind is “steadfastness” – that is keeping going. Remember the danger in the book of James? God has been of double-mindedness, half loving God, and half loving the world. James tells us trials help us to more fully pursue God.
The trials help us to understand what time it is. Sometimes when we’re suffering we may wonder how long it will go on for. Here the Lord says, just a little longer. What a comfort to know that the “coming of the Lord is at hand” (v8). The most it will be for us is a lifetime! And then an eternity of joy being with the Lord and free from all pain and suffering. Until that time, God graciously says be patient.
James may be referring to the oppression that some believers were facing from the rich (5:1-6), he may have been referring to other trials, but whatever it is, He reassures us that the coming of the Lord will sort it all out. He gives 3 examples of patient endurance while suffering. First, the farmer, it’s hard work for them as they plough, scatter, fertilise, and wait. They can’t see any growth at first, maybe they are tempted to give up, but no, they wait. Second, the Old Testament prophets, they spoke God’s Word and faced much suffering, and they had to wait for God to fulfil His promise. Sometimes that fulfilment didn’t come until after they had died. But they kept trusting. The third example is Job, a man which suffered so much, and yet kept trusting, even the face of his miserable comforters. Dear Christian, don’t give up. Allow your suffering to make you lean harder into the Lord, His just deliverance will come. Allow your suffering to wean you from your love of the world and into a wholehearted love for the Lord.
Not only does suffering produce steadfastness, but James closes his letter by telling us that suffering can also expose sin. It needs saying, especially to the sensitive Christian, that much suffering comes purely from living in a broken world, and other suffering comes because we follow Christ. But it is also possible that God can use suffering to expose sin. James cites the example of Elijah, do you remember what he did? He challenged the people not to be double-minded, they had been limping between the worship of the Lord and the worship of Baal. The result of their sin was drought, which brought a fair amount of suffering and sickness. Elijah challenged them to confess their sin and be restored. James is writing to a church that is torn apart by worldliness, quarrelling and fighting and it may just be that the Lord sent sickness to bring the church to repentance. Remember how much the Lord loves His church and cares for her purity. In his book “radically whole”, David Gibson says “it is no bad thing if sometimes circumstances enter our lives that make us pause and ask ‘what have I been doing to God’s church, to Christ’s bride?”
He suggests helpful questions such as “am I playing an active role in sowing division within the church family? Have I been behaving disgracefully towards my brothers and sisters? In the heated argument at church, was I the one driving it with malicious gossip and self-centred assertions?”
If you have a clear conscience, then you don’t need to beat yourself up, you can know the Lord has some other good purpose for you, but if your conscience is not clear, James says – call for the elders (godly leaders) of the church and ask them to pray with you. As you confess your sin, you will find forgiveness and restoration.
God uses suffering for our good, to help us persevere and even to expose sin that may otherwise remain uncovered. When you are suffering, it doesn’t mean God has abandoned you, if you belong to Christ, He will never abandon you and will use your trial for good.
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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