Tuesday — Patience in the Process
New Testament Scripture – James 5:7–8
“Be patient, therefore, beloved… The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth…”
Old Testament Scripture – Lamentations 3:25–26
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him… It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Growth You Cannot Rush
If Monday was about staying where Jesus told them to stay, Tuesday is about how long they might have to stay there.
James gives us the image of a farmer. He prepares the soil. He plants the seed. He does what he can do. And then he waits. Ok - actually he goes off and does many other things but you get the idea.
He cannot command the rain. He cannot force the sun. He cannot pull the crop out of the ground by sheer enthusiasm.
There is real work in farming — but there is also real waiting.
The disciples were in that kind of season. The promise had been spoken. The Spirit was coming. The mission would expand. But between promise and fulfillment sits patience.
And patience has a way of exposing us.
Waiting Without Panic
Lamentations was written when Jerusalem lay in ruins. The temple destroyed. The city burned. If anyone had reason to question God’s timing, it was the people standing in that rubble.
(BTW - If you have never read Lamentations I encourage you to do so. It changed my perspective on what he destruction of Jerusalem looked like. It's brutal!)
Yet the writer says, “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Good! Not exciting. Not efficient. Not impressive. But good. Seems a vague word to use.
Yet - waiting quietly means you do not interpret delay as abandonment. It means you do not scramble to manufacture a solution simply because silence makes you uncomfortable.
The disciples could have filled the time with plans. They could have speculated about strategy. They could have gone back to what felt familiar.
Instead, they waited together.
And that kind of waiting requires trust.
The Slow Work of God
Here is what we often forget: growth is usually slow before it is visible.
The enthroned Christ was not nervous about the timeline. Rome was still Rome. The world looked unchanged. But heaven was not anxious.
Sometimes I think we assume that if something is not moving quickly, it must not be moving at all.
But the farmer trusts the season. He does not dig up the seed every morning to check its progress. He believes something is happening beneath the surface.
Patience is not inactivity. It is confidence in the One who governs the process.
If Jesus truly reigns now — not later, not symbolically, but now — then we can trust that even quiet days in an upper room are part of His rule.
And maybe that is where we are more often than we admit. Waiting. Wondering. Resisting the urge to hurry God along.
The church waits because she trusts her King.
Prayer
Lord,
Teach us patience in seasons that feel slow.
Guard us from panic when we cannot see progress.
Help us trust that You are working beneath the surface.
Form in us a steady confidence in Your timing.
Amen.
New Testament Scripture – James 5:7–8
“Be patient, therefore, beloved… The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth…”
Old Testament Scripture – Lamentations 3:25–26
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him… It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Growth You Cannot Rush
If Monday was about staying where Jesus told them to stay, Tuesday is about how long they might have to stay there.
James gives us the image of a farmer. He prepares the soil. He plants the seed. He does what he can do. And then he waits. Ok - actually he goes off and does many other things but you get the idea.
He cannot command the rain. He cannot force the sun. He cannot pull the crop out of the ground by sheer enthusiasm.
There is real work in farming — but there is also real waiting.
The disciples were in that kind of season. The promise had been spoken. The Spirit was coming. The mission would expand. But between promise and fulfillment sits patience.
And patience has a way of exposing us.
Waiting Without Panic
Lamentations was written when Jerusalem lay in ruins. The temple destroyed. The city burned. If anyone had reason to question God’s timing, it was the people standing in that rubble.
(BTW - If you have never read Lamentations I encourage you to do so. It changed my perspective on what he destruction of Jerusalem looked like. It's brutal!)
Yet the writer says, “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Good! Not exciting. Not efficient. Not impressive. But good. Seems a vague word to use.
Yet - waiting quietly means you do not interpret delay as abandonment. It means you do not scramble to manufacture a solution simply because silence makes you uncomfortable.
The disciples could have filled the time with plans. They could have speculated about strategy. They could have gone back to what felt familiar.
Instead, they waited together.
And that kind of waiting requires trust.
The Slow Work of God
Here is what we often forget: growth is usually slow before it is visible.
The enthroned Christ was not nervous about the timeline. Rome was still Rome. The world looked unchanged. But heaven was not anxious.
Sometimes I think we assume that if something is not moving quickly, it must not be moving at all.
But the farmer trusts the season. He does not dig up the seed every morning to check its progress. He believes something is happening beneath the surface.
Patience is not inactivity. It is confidence in the One who governs the process.
If Jesus truly reigns now — not later, not symbolically, but now — then we can trust that even quiet days in an upper room are part of His rule.
And maybe that is where we are more often than we admit. Waiting. Wondering. Resisting the urge to hurry God along.
The church waits because she trusts her King.
Prayer
Lord,
Teach us patience in seasons that feel slow.
Guard us from panic when we cannot see progress.
Help us trust that You are working beneath the surface.
Form in us a steady confidence in Your timing.
Amen.
Posted in Easter Season 2026
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