Wait, Brace, Let It Go

The “Fasten Seatbelts” sign just came on and you know you’re in for a bumpy ride.

We don’t like to wait. We check our phones when the line at the drive-thru slows down. We tap our feet when the internet takes more than five seconds to load. We complain when a package is marked “out for delivery” but hasn’t arrived yet. We are a people trained by technology and culture to expect everything now — and maybe even faster.

But James has another word for us: “Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” (James 5:7). It’s a call to a deeper kind of waiting. It’s not just passive delay, but active trust. He invites us to wait like a farmer, who knows something is growing even when sprouting crops have yet to emerge from the ground. To wait with eyes open, hands ready and hearts steady.

And James doesn’t stop there. He tells us to brace for it. Strengthen your hearts. The Lord is near. Hard times may be coming. But so is the Judge, and He is just.

And finally, he advises us to let...