In Touch Daily DEVOTIONAL for 9th December 2023 Saturday
You are welcome to Today’s In Touch Daily Devotional written by Dr Charles Stanley and published by In Touch Ministry. Charles F. Stanley is the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. He demonstrates a keen awareness of people’s needs and provides Christ-centered biblically-based principles for everyday life.
Today’s Topic: In Due Time
When God asks us to wait, we can be certain that He intends for a blessing to follow.
Scripture: James 5:7-11
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
In Touch Daily Devotional – Dr. Charles Stanley 9th December 2023
No one likes waiting, but doing so is often the wisest course of action for everyday choices as well as for larger, more consequential ones. Developing a patient spirit is also essential when it comes to living the Christian life (Galatians 5:22).
Thankfully, we have countless examples both in Scripture and throughout church history that can help us cultivate a spirit of endurance in our own life. In today’s passage, the apostle James encourages believers with an agricultural metaphor many of them would have understood well—the early and late rains. In the Middle East, water is scarce, so farmers must plan their work accordingly. Some plant in October and November, after the early rains have softened the ground. Then they harvest in April and May, after the later rains have brought crops to peak quality. In between, the only thing farmers can do is wait, trusting the crops will flourish. Sometimes the same thing is true of our life.
Urging that we stay strong, James reminds us about the prophets and Job—they all endured hardships and experienced God’s deliverance in the end. Their example is worth following because, as Scripture promises, “In due time we will reap, if we do not become weary” (Galatians 6:9).
Bible in One Year: Philippians 1-4
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