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—James 5:11

Many of the saints were suffering terrible mistreatment at the hands of the ungodly rich. The rich kept back the wages they had agreed to pay the saints for working their fields. They took the saints to court to defraud them of the little they had. The result was that the saints were in desperate straits. Some were even dying because they lacked the basic necessities of life.

James calls the saints to be patient unto the coming of the Lord. They were to keep their eye on the coming of the Lord, at which time they would be delivered from all suffering. And all the wrongs done to them would be avenged. In that hope they were to exercise patience.

To encourage the saints in the exercise of patience, James proceeded to give examples of those who have been patient in the face of affliction. James called attention to the prophets of old as an example of suffering affliction and of patience. Many of the Old Testament prophets suffered at the hands of evil men, even as the saints in James’ day did. There was Enoch, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many more. Patiently they endured affliction.

Then James turned to Job as an example of one suffering affliction and patience. Not only does James set before us the example of Job’s patient suffering, he also gives us the key to having the patience of Job. You “have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”

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Patience is the ability to persevere in a godly life without discouragement, dissatisfaction or anger, even though life is filled with many sufferings and afflictions. In the face of suffering, patience is even the ability to be content and find peace with God’s way.

There are two words used in the New Testament original for patience. The one means to be of a long spirit. It is the virtue according to which one does not lose heart and give up on what he is pursuing as he encounters adversity. One rather perseveres in the pursuit of his goal regardless of the obstacles. The other word for patience means to remain under. It is the ability to endure or hold up under the weight of suffering and affliction so that one is not crushed by the heavy burdens that affliction places on him. He continues in the pursuit of his goal, regardless of the burdens he must carry. Both words are used in the passage we have before us. The one is translated “endure,” the other as “patience.” The two words complement each other. They express the idea of holding up under a heavy burden, without losing heart, thus enabling one to persevere and not give up.

James calls our attention to the patience of Job.

To appreciate the patience of Job we must first consider Job’s situation.

First, Job was a rich man. He was rich in material things. According to Job 1:3, “His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.” Job was also rich in children. Born to him were seven sons and three daughters (Job 1:2). Most importantly, Job was rich spiritually. He was “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1).

But then affliction came. Satan entered heaven and brought accusation against Job. Job served God only because God had prospered him. Take away these riches and Job would curse God and die. With God’s permission, Satan afflicted Job. First Satan took away all of Job’s riches. In one day, he lost all his herds and his ten children. Somewhat later Satan afflicted Job personally with great boils and sores. What suffering and loss! Few in history have ever been afflicted as greatly as Job.

And with tremendous patience, Job endured it. After learning that all his possessions were gone and his ten children were dead, Job responded, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed [not cursed] be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). And then we read, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22). And after Satan touched Job personally with great pain and sickness, his wife said unto him, “Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die,” to which Job responded, “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips” (Job 2:9, 10).

What remarkable patience!

Job’s patience was not perfect. He did curse the day of his birth. Nevertheless, Job endured it all and did so in such a way that he persevered in faithfulness to the Lord. He did not curse God as Satan wanted and his wife urged him to do. He clung to the Lord His God and even blessed His name.

We have Job as an example to follow in our lesser afflictions.

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This patience is possible only when we see the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

The end of the Lord is the end result that the Lord intends in the suffering of His people. We learn from Job’s history that Satan often has a hand in our suffering and affliction. And his purpose is to destroy us. However, God is sovereign in our affliction. He uses Satan and the powers of darkness to accomplish His purpose. Not only does He preserve His people in the midst of their afflictions, but He also uses these afflictions for their advantage and salvation.

We see this with Job. The end of the Lord with Job was to use the terrible afflictions to enrich Job. In the last chapter of the book of Job we learn that God restored Job’s health. Then God gave him ten more children. Finally, the Lord gave Job double the riches he had before.

This doubling of Job’s riches was only a sign of a deeper, spiritual enrichment for Job. In the Old Testament earthly prosperity was a sign of heavenly riches and blessings. From this we may conclude that the double riches Job received through his suffering was a sign of greater spiritual riches that Job received through his affliction.

Seeing the end of the Lord with Job in his sufferings, we also see that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. To be pitiful and of tender mercy are very expressive terms in the original. Both express the idea of being deeply affected by the suffering of a loved one. “Very pitiful” expresses the idea that one is so deeply affected by the plight of another that his stomach is knotted up and it affects his bowels. “Tender mercy” expresses the idea of a sigh that one utters upon learning of the affliction of one that he loves. Both ideas are now ascribed to God. They express the fact that God is deeply affected by our sufferings. It is true that God is the One who ultimately sends suffering into our lives. However, He is deeply moved and affected by it.

This explains the Lord’s dealings with Job. God (by the hand of Satan) sent suffering into Job’s life. But because the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy, God sent suffering only for Job’s good and enrichment. Humanly speaking, God was almost hesitant to do so. But for Job’s good, He afflicted Job. God did not allow Job to suffer any more than is necessary to accomplish His end in the suffering. This is true with respect to both the intensity and the duration of his suffering.

What we see in Job’s sufferings, we must now see to be true in our own sufferings. The end of the Lord in our sufferings is the same as that of Job’s sufferings. The Lord sends affliction for our spiritual enrichment. Sometimes He uses affliction to correct us in our sins and faults. Certainly, He uses affliction to increase our faith by trying it. Also, through affliction He teaches us the fleeting character of all things earthly and the greater value of things heavenly so that we set our hearts on the things that are above. And through it all we are made ready for glory.

In all this the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. He is deeply affected by our sufferings. For that reason, He sends suffering only for our good. And He will certainly keep us in our suffering. He will never let us suffer more than is necessary to accomplish His good purpose. And the good we derive from our affliction will far outweigh the suffering we had to endure.

Only when we see these things in our affliction can we be patient. We cannot be patient but only bitter and rebellious if we see no reason for our suffering. Similarly, patience will be elusive if we conclude that God does not care for us in our suffering or has abandoned us. But if we can see the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy, we have the key to being patient.

And we can see this by faith. Without faith, suffering only looks as though the Lord does not care for us or even has forsaken us. But by faith we see the end of the Lord so as to enjoy His gift of patience.

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We count them happy which endure.

To endure is to persevere with steadfast trust the suffering that comes to us in this life. It is to remain faithful to the Lord, even though the Lord sends sickness or debilitating pain. It is to be content with the Lord’s way, even though the Lord takes away our loved ones or causes us to struggle financially.

Those who by faith endure find happiness. This happiness comes from the spiritual riches that they have received through the suffering God brings. This happiness is being filled with God’s friendship and fellowship as the sufferings God sent work their purpose. They have been corrected by God’s chastisement; they have come to seek the things above rather than the things here below; they have learned to rely upon the Lord and not themselves.

Let us therefore be patient in every affliction. We have before us the example of Job. We have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. We see this with Job. Let us also see it for ourselves by faith. In that faith let us be patient, that we may obtain the blessing of enduring.

You can access the Spanish version of this article, translated by Jorge Carbajal, by clicking the following link. LA PACIENCIA DE JOB