Make Like a Farmer

"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near."
James 5:7-8

I have never thought much about farming. Growing up in the suburbs and now living in a city, farming is not really on my radar (except for the annual flower beds my parents planted - but those involved planting existing blooms, not seeds that needed time to sprout).

Now that I think about it, farming requires more patience than most professions. Farmers wait literally months, sometimes close to a year, to reap benefits from their labor. In our instanteous, drive-through, multi-tasking world, months = a VERY long time. My job requires a lot of time on the computer, and I become impatient when it takes more than five seconds (literally) for my Internet browser to load! Farmers take the cake for patience.

Are you waiting on something? Make like a farmer and wait patiently. You could fret and pace up and down your fields every day, complain to everyone else about how long the crops are taking to grow or the rain is taking to come, and make yourself sick from being so upset about the time that's passing. But, that doesn't make the crops ready any sooner does it? No. In fact, that just makes you (and your neighbors) miserable in the process, distracting you from anything else happening in life and zapping precious energy.

If you are in a waiting period, rest. Rest knowing who you are waiting on - GOD. The author of the universe is never, ever late! He is creating the story, so He knows when the crops need to come. He hasn't forgotten. Rest and allow Him to do whatever He's longing to do in your life in the meantime while you wait! He is good, and He loves you too much to not work it out in the timing that's best.