Author: Chris Boggess

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.

James 5:7 (NLT)

 

Shortcuts make long delays. – J.R.R. Tolkien

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AVOID SHORTCUTS

 

Though we have focused on waiting for God to act, let’s take a minute and look at the alternative: being impatient.

There was a famous experiment from the 70’s called the marshmallow test. In the test, preschool children were asked to pick from two treats: a marshmallow or a pretzel. Then they were told that if they waited while the adult left the room, they could have the treat they wanted when the adult re-entered the room. They also had the choice to ring a bell, call the adult back earlier, and get the second choice treat instead. Most of the kids didn’t wait. They were fine with the second choice if they could have it now. Their wait times were also significantly shorter when the treats were in view. When they saw it, they couldn’t wait to have it.

Sometimes, we think of the need for instant gratification as a modern thing, but modernity just makes it more possible for us to have things immediately. Our satisfaction is just a click and a credit card away. We may be more programmed to be impatient now, but when we look at the people in the Bible, we see time and again people who were not willing to wait for God, but instead tried to take a shortcut. From Abraham to Moses and even in the fall in the Garden of Eden, we see people taking shortcuts to get what they want, and it always ends with a setback in their spiritual growth.

There is a passage in Matthew’s gospel that says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV)

I love the way The Message paraphrases this passage: Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

Too often, we are like the children in the marshmallow test. We will settle for less than the best to get it now. C.S. Lewis said we are “far too easily pleased” because we really haven’t tried to grasp what God has for us. Therefore, we settle for our earthly desires instead of God’s infinite joy through salvation in Christ.

When you find yourself impatient and looking for a quick fix, take a moment and meditate on what God has for you if you’ll wait on him.

 

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Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

We give great honor to those who endure suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.

James 5:11 (NLT)

 

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)

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THANKFUL FOR SUFFERING

 

Think back to times in your life that were difficult. As painful as they were, they probably were not as difficult as what Job endured. In case you aren’t familiar with his story, Job lost everything: his children, his wealth, his livelihood, and his health. Then, after he wallows in self-pity, he finally hears from God, and everything is restored.

Now, think back to the difficult times that you have been through. Even though they are nothing like what Job endured, it can seem like it will never end when we are going through things and waiting for God to come through.

Take a minute to reflect on the times that God has come through, even though you may have had to wait. With those times in your life in mind, look at Psalm 40:1-3:

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
² He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

Remember that even though we might have to wait for God to act in some situations, we must realize that God’s acting is purely for his glory. So, when he acts, we should, like the psalmist, put a song of praise in our mouth and let other people know how God has come through for us.

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Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

James 5:10 (NLT)

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OTHER PEOPLE CAN DO IT

 

I remember the summer before junior high school like it was yesterday. I remember that I was highly anxious about walking the halls of McKinley Jr. High – and not anxious in a good way. How will I find my classes? Who will I be in class with? Will people make fun of my huge ears? (They weren’t abnormally large, but I was convinced they were). But even as I was facing all these fears, I remember going over the same mantra in my head. Over and over, as I fell asleep that August with 7^th grade looming in my future, I would repeat, “Other people have made it through this, and I can too.” I leaned into the idea that no matter how hard it would be, if other people could do it, I could make it through, too.

I find myself repeating that idea over and over in my life. When faced with difficult circumstances, I return to that 7^th-grade reassurance, “Other people did it, so I can too.”

I think that is why the writer of Hebrews in Chapter 11 recounts the hall of famers in the Old Testament. He brings out all the big names, from Abel to Abraham and Moses to Samson. Then, the writer shares how each lived by faith. They all encountered stumbling blocks, but they kept moving forward, and they gave testimony to what God can do in the lives of everyday, flawed humans.

Then comes the opening of Chapter 12: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV).

He is saying all those others made it, and you can too. So, don’t give up. I don’t know what is looming over your life or what struggle you are facing, but I know that the testimony of scripture is that we can have faith that God is doing something, and because of that, we can have “patience in suffering,” even when we don’t know what is coming next.

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Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!

James 5:8-9 (NLT)

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ON CAMERA

 

One of my guilty pleasures is to watch videos on YouTube. But not just any videos. I love dashcam videos. In these videos, people are not expecting cameras, so they often misbehave, thinking there is no accountability. They cut people off and make rude hand gestures. Sometimes, they even jump out of their cars to confront other drivers. The road rage is wild in some videos! The funny thing is that sometimes a driver will be raging, and the person in the car with the camera will point to the device. When the other driver sees it, their demeanor changes. It’s as if they are suddenly replaying everything they just did and don’t like what they see.

It is the realization that they are being seen that changes them. In today’s world, it seems like we should always expect to be on camera. There are cameras in stores, on streets, in doorbells, and on the dashboards of cars on the road around us.

The verse above says, “Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!” I get the picture from this of being back in elementary school, and the teacher leaves the room for a minute.  There is always a kid or two that will use the opportunity to misbehave. But sometimes, the teacher comes in quietly, and the kid acting up doesn’t see. That moment of realization that they have been caught is what I get from this verse.

How would we act differently if we were more aware that we are seen by God? It should change everything about our day. And based on the verse, it should significantly impact how we treat others.

Live today like Jesus is watching.

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Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the Spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.

James 5:7 (NLT)

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ARE WE THERE YET?

“Are we there yet?” That cry is the bane of every parent’s existence. How do children know this phrase? It seems pre-loaded in their juvenile brains and programmed to activate once they have been in a moving vehicle for at least 15 minutes.

And how many parents throw the answers back to the query? “Are we still moving?” “Does it look like we are there?” “Time will pass faster if you quit asking.” That last one is untrue, but we’ll do anything to stop the question!

I remember yelling that question from the back of the LTD Country Squire on our frequent trips to North Carolina to visit cousins, or on the drive to a fun destination like King’s Island. It was a sincere question, even though it was annoying to my parents and logically pointless (because we were obviously NOT there).

For a child, everything seems to take forever. A road trip seems to be never-ending, and Christmas always seems so far away. And now, as adults, we lose that intense anticipation.

In James’s passage, we are called to be patient while waiting for Christ’s return. Can you imagine the anticipation of those first-century Christians, some of whom had seen Jesus face to face, had witnessed his resurrection, or had seen him taken into heaven? Knowing he was coming back would be a shadow over every day they lived.

Now, 2000 years later, I think perhaps we are too patient. When was the last time you woke in the morning and thought, “Maybe Jesus is coming back today!” I think for many of us, verse 7 has lost its impact. We go about our day as if the world will last forever.

His coming is as inevitable as the rains in the Fall and the Spring. So this week, take the time to get excited about the fact that we serve a risen Savior who has promised to return. And may our response to that promise be the same as what we find in the next to last verse in our Bible, Revelation 22:20:

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

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Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.