It Is Always Too Soon to Quit Following Jesus

We do not begin life with an abundance of patience. When babies are wet, hungry, or tired, they cry. Patient endurance is not part of the package.

We are not born with patience. Accumulating it seems like storing marbles on a table on a slanted floor. Progress is elusive.

Do you struggle with patience, too? I am not surprised. James 5:7-11 has an important message for us. Christians must patiently endure the trials of life.

First, consider the view from above. I once flew over my house in an airplane.

From the air, the woods behind the house, which seemed giant to me as a kid, looked like a small woodlot. The trees seemed like big weeds.

Our problems are like that. For us, they are the only reality. Nothing else exists. From above, from God’s perspective, they take on manageable proportions.

Patience includes not trying to get even with those who wrong us. Matthew 18:21-35 connects human and divine patience. We are obligated to treat others as God has treated us.

I am glad God does not zap me the moment I step out of line! Remember how patient God has been with you. Moreover, He can give you the patience you need.

The secret of patience is keeping Christ in the driver’s seat of your life. The Holy Spirit’s control yields long-suffering patience (Galatians 5:22).

Impatience and Spirit-controlled thinking run on different tracks. Impatience reveals a self-controlled life.

The Jewish farmer patiently waited for rain for his crop. Similarly, we wait patiently for the Lord’s coming. That is our source of strength for the present.

Physical, emotional, and spiritual wholeness lie ahead when Jesus comes. A sure future stabilizes a turbulent present (James 5:8).

The Lord’s coming is also a warning. God forbids complaining and hidden bitterness (James 5:9). Both demonstrate a lack of patience with others.

Unlike patience, perseverance is stick-to-it-iveness despite pain. Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him…” (Job 13:15 NIV). Job persevered through incredible difficulties because he single-mindedly trusted God, no matter what.

The Christian life is a race requiring endurance to finish (Hebrews 12:1). To endure, we must lay aside everything that interferes with fully living for Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2).

That includes sin and the “good” things that prevent us from doing our best for Him. Focus on the joy that lies ahead. Never quit.

Many remember Roberto Duran for saying “no more” when he quit during the eighth round of his boxing match with Ray Leonard in 1980. By God’s grace, we will not be a “no more” Christian. What is your takeaway?

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God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,150 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting. 

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