Digging Deeper James 5:8 Points to Ponder

James 5:8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Points to ponder
Establish your hearts. As I consider that encouragement, I am reminded that we, as women, can be prone to 'follow our hearts' perhaps being led by our emotions. That is not to say there are not men that do the same or women who don't but, generally speaking, women can be inclined to be more influenced by emotions than our male counterpart.

When I think of the admonition to establish our hearts, I realize it's important that we establish it based on truth rather than anything else. In so doing, we narrow our focus and reduce extraneous distractions. It's work for sure because it just feels better to follow our emotions. Doesn't it?

James not only tells us to establish (to make firm or stable1) our hearts but to be patient because the Lord is returning.

Have you ever gotten a bad report from the doctor or perhaps the anticipation of one? If so, my experience has been that in the immediate aftermath of the news, all kinds of things that seemed so very important just 24 hours ago, in fact 24 minutes ago, seem to fade into being the very unimportant. In an instant, many things we took for granted, like marriage, family, life, health, relationships, hugging, laughing and caring, become very important.

I think this is what James is saying. The thing that can refocus our hearts and minds to be patient with others is that the coming of the Lord is at hand, because in light of eternity, all those things that cause us to be impatient with others fade in comparison.

Blessings,
Diane

Cross references:
A. James 5:8 : 1 Thess. 3:13
B. James 5:8 : 1 Pet. 4:7; Rom. 13:11, 12; Phil. 4:5; Heb. 10:25, 37

1 Merriam-Webster online Dictionary 10.7.11