Encouragement for Your Week: March 22-28
This Week’s Verse
"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains."
— James 5:7 (NIV)
Devotion
Nature is full of "not yet" moments. We see it everywhere: a butterfly doesn't just appear; it has to endure the slow, quiet struggle inside a chrysalis. A salmon doesn't start its life at the finish line; it has to survive the vast ocean before it ever finds its way back to the stream. Even a farmer—someone who works harder than almost anyone—understands that after the plowing and planting are done, the most important job is simply to wait.
I’ve realized that we often try to "hack" the process. We want the harvest without the season of dirt under our fingernails. But creation has a specific order, and you can’t rush the growth. You can’t force a flower to bloom by pulling on its petals, and you can't gather a crop that hasn't had time to take root.
It’s the same way with the return of Jesus. It is a guaranteed event, but it’s not an isolated one. Just as the seasons must turn, certain things are unfolding in our world right now. The Gospel is reaching new corners of the globe, the Church is finding its footing, and the complexities of history are playing out exactly as scripted.
I know how hard it is to stay patient. When life feels heavy or when we see suffering around us, our hearts cry out like the Apostle John: "Come, Lord Jesus." We feel ready. We feel like we’ve had enough. But our readiness doesn't set the clock—God’s perfect timing does.
Learning to Live in the "Between"
Being patient doesn't mean being passive. Like the farmer, we have work to do while we wait. We are called to:
Trust the Process: Acknowledge that God has a plan that is bigger than our current perspective.
Stay Prepared: Use this time to "make ourselves ready," growing in our faith and character.
Read the Signs: Instead of getting frustrated by the delay, we should look at the world with wisdom, understanding how to live faithfully in the era we’ve been given.
The Lord is coming. That is a certainty. But until that day, let's take a breath and trust the One who manages the rains and the harvests. Everything is happening in its proper time.