James 5:11 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.

The reward of the Christian awaits him in heaven. As Christians, we need to endure until we reach our goal of being perfected in Christ. Endurance, however, does not mean that we must lament. Yes, times here on earth may be more difficult than we would prefer, but there are many more victories than there are defeats. We must rejoice in or victories. Even when the surroundings may seem bleak, we must rejoice. James mentions Job. Job lost all his wealth and the majority of his family. Then, he lost his health. Did Job complain? No. His wife wanted Job to curse God and die. Job did not. He waited with patience to see God move in the situation. God did and Job was restored. At the end, his wealth was restored two-fold and his family was doubled.

When we consider Job, and the Lord’s response, we know that God is watching us. We can know that God will respond to us when we need Him to. His mercy is directed toward us!

James 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

Affliction: this is what the prophets endured in their day. Why did they endure this? They were preaching the Word of the Lord. Likewise, when we stand for the Lord, we should expect nothing less. Consider what the Lord, Himself, said:

John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. (19) If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

See, as Christians, we are not supposed to be like the world. We are supposed to be completely different from the people of the world and from the world system. As Christians, our lives, our walk should combine in to a testimony which is, itself, a conviction to the people of the world. When the people of the world (the unsaved people) see us, there should be something in them which proves they are not right with God. When the unsaved see our walk with God they will be drawn to God. From there, they can chose to harden their hearts or come to God. Sadly, most will not come to God. They will harden their heart and their response to us will show it. They will lash out toward the Christian and hate the Christian.
 

James 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

How many of us hold a grudge? How many fail to forgive? What if the Lord were to hold a grudge against us as we hold our petty grudges against others? What if the Lord forgave us as we forgive others? Did you know the Lord expects us to forgive others the same way that we expect Him to forgive us? That means we are supposed to forgive the people around us in the same way that the Lord has forgiven us. We should completely forgive them. That means the we cannot hold a grudge against someone for something they did yesterday or twenty years ago. When we forgive, it is over – completely over. More than that, just as the Lord forgets our sins against Him, we must also forget the trespasses against us.

Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

See, that is the same point James is trying to make. We are to forgive, we are not to hold a grudge.