The Farmer (11-4-11)

James 5:7-8 - "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."

Right after these verses James tells us to take the prophets as an example of suffering and patience. Throughout this whole context we're exhorted to be patient and endure until the return of Christ. He likens the suffering and endurance to the prophets, and here he likens the patience that we're to show, to that of a farmer waiting for the produce of the fields.
Farming isn't always ideal, and there are a lot of things that can determine whether a crop will be good or bad. Drought or floods or swarms of insects or hail or other storms will affect a farmers crop, but you don't see a farmer picking up his family and moving to another location just because of a bad season. A farmer knows that, as far as farming goes, there are different seasons. Seasons of plenty and season of want, times of great produce and seasons when the crop is destroyed, but the farmer waits patiently for the outcome.
The christian life is the same way. Throughout life we go through all kinds of seasons. Seasons where everything seems to be going our way, and season when everything seems to be going wrong. But whatever is going on we know that God is the same. Who He is does not depend on our circumstances, and just like the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it no matter what season he is in, we also need to be patient until the coming of the Lord.

James 5:8 - "You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."