In a recent article, we explored the quality of patience through the example in James 5:7-8 of a farmer waiting for the harvest.

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (ESV)

We reflected on how this metaphor instructs missional entrepreneurs to trust God’s timing and provision. In this follow-up, we’ll consider how our patience reflects God’s own character, and how a failure to wait on God can lead to serious consequences for business leaders.

God’s Patience with Us

Our patience reflects God’s patience toward us. He is long-suffering, graciously giving people time to turn to Him rather than executing immediate judgment. 2 Peter 3:8-9 reminds us: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

God’s patience is so expansive that it challenges our sense of time. What seems like slowness to us is actually grace—His deliberate withholding of judgment, giving opportunities for repentance and growth. His patience is also seen in the life and sacrifice of Jesus, God the Son. His very presence on earth demonstrated divine patience as He bore with the weaknesses and failures of humanity.

Scott Hubbard, writing for Desiring God, captures this beautifully:

“In Jesus, the God-man, the song of God’s slowness to anger swells to its crescendo. Jesus’s ministry was one of patience, for to be with us was to bear with us (Luke 9:41). He lived here as light among darkness, sinlessness among sin, the straight among the crooked — as the unrivaled prince of patience.”

In Christ, we see the ultimate expression of patience—God Himself enduring our weaknesses and failures with steadfast love.

Patience in the Face of Injustice

Just as Christ endured injustice with unwavering patience and trust in the Father, we too are called to reflect that same spirit as we face the brokenness of the business world.

The exhortation to patience in James 5:7 immediately follows a strong denunciation of injustice in verses 4-6: “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts…” (ESV). So when James says in verse 7, “Be patient, therefore…” he ties our call to patience to the reality of injustice in a broken world, experienced by these workers in the context of enterprise.

Like the workers James described, missional enterprise leaders can encounter and experience fraud and injustice in their business dealings in many ways—through interactions with suppliers, competitors, authorities, and others. The scriptures do not ignore or minimize these kinds of challenges. Rather, it is in light of the brokenness in enterprise that James encourages his readers to wait upon the Lord.

Patience is not a call to passivity but to faith in God’s sovereignty. For missional enterprise leaders, this means holding fast to God’s timing and character even when our work is slow, overlooked, or opposed. We resist the temptation to cut corners or fight fire with fire. Instead, we walk in the footsteps of Christ—enduring injustice with integrity, persevering in hope, and trusting that every act of faithfulness will one day be rewarded by the one who sees all and makes all things right.

Verse of the Week:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you … 2 Peter 3:9

May our interactions with others in business increasingly reflect the patience of the God who has lavished patient love and grace upon us.