#56 - Wait Well | James 5:7 | Built To Last

How many times have you checked for progress… only to feel frustrated when nothing seems to be changing?

In this episode of The Daily Rebel, we walk through James 5:7 and the powerful picture of the farmer waiting on the harvest. James reminds us that patience is more than waiting—it’s enduring, staying steady, and refusing to quit when life takes longer than expected.

A lot of us want growth instantly. But God often grows roots before He reveals fruit.

We unpack three truths:

1. Waiting is required 
2. Waiting is active 
3. Waiting has a reward 

You’ll hear why delay is often development, why staying faithful matters in hidden seasons, and how God uses waiting to build things that actually last.

Waiting doesn’t mean stop. It means stay faithful.

Keep praying. Keep showing up. Keep obeying.

Because redeemed rebels don’t quit in the waiting—they grow in it

Book Derek Griffon to Speak at your next event 

https://www.derekgriffon.com/invite

Transcript

Welcome \\ Daily Rebel Mission

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This podcast is for the ones who know they will rescue, but also know they were resent. Saved by grace, sent to live differently. We're not rebelling against God, we're rebelling against everything that keeps us free. Every day, we don't swing our opinions, we sharpen our lives on the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, guiding us, cutting through lives, and leading us one step at a time. We'll talk faith, identity, purpose, leadership, and what it really looks like to follow Jesus in a distracted world. Welcome to the Daily Rebel. Yo, what up, fam? Welcome back to the Daily Rebel, and we are on episode 56, and we're diving into James chapter 5, verse 7 today. And the series this week is called Built

Series: Built To Last

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to Last. So, uh James chapter 5, verse 7, here we go. It says, Therefore,

Today's Text: James 5:7

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brothers and sisters, be patient. Be patient. I'm gonna say it again. Be patient until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is, here's that word again, patient with it until it receives the earthly and the late rains. How

Tired of Waiting

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many of you get so tired of waiting for something? You keep checking to see if anything has changed. You look once, nothing. You check again, still nothing. And before long, you're frustrated because you expected progress by now. It's kind of like your kids, my twin boys are three and a half years old, and I know that if they walk around the corner and I just look at them and stare at them, I'm never gonna see them grow. Why? Because it happens over time. But that's how much of most of us live. We don't mind growth. We just don't like waiting for it. Waiting

The Frustration of Slow Progress

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feels like nothing is happening. It feels like God is silent, like progress is stopped and your life is stuck. But James says that's not reality. Something is happening. You just can't see it. In the text, he says, be patient. Um, and this means more than waiting. It means enduring, it means staying steady, refusing to quit when things take longer than expected. I mean, it's no wonder James is talking to a group of persecuted people, per people that are being hunted by the Romans, people that are struggling. And James is like, hey, just wait. And

The Farmer and the Process of Growth

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then he says this, he says, the farmer waits. And that's this intentional language because the farmer understands something we forget. Growth doesn't happen instantly, it happens over time. And then he says, look, he waits for the early and late rains. Early rain prepares the ground, late rain produces the harvest. Both are absolutely necessary. So you don't get fruit without both. And so patience, listen, is not a passive idea. It's trusting God's timing while staying engaged. And I am one of the most impatient people I know. I can be very patient with some big things, but if you ask my wife or anybody that knows me, I get very impatient

The Three Points

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with little things. But regardless, let me give y'all three points. Here we go. Number one,

Point 1: Waiting Is Required

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waiting is required. Why? Because growth takes time. Again, seeds don't show up overnight, y'all. Roots grow beneath

Roots Grow Before Fruit Appears

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the surface before anything shows above it. God grows things slow on purpose. And some of y'all are frustrated because you're expecting fruit in a season where God is still growing roots. Just because you can't see it though, doesn't mean it's not happening. It's like when you start working out, you don't see a lot of progress at first. Day one, you're like, there's nothing happening. Day 100, though, you start seeing results. Day 300, your life has been changed. So listen, focus on the part where waiting is required. It's part of life. It's gonna happen. Look at the farmer. He waits. Speaking of farmer,

Point 2: Waiting Is Active

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here's number two waiting is active. Waiting is not sitting still. Here's why I say the farmer again, because the farmer doesn't plant and then disappear. He stays engaged, he keeps working, he keeps showing up. That's why waiting is active. Waiting is showing up, staying consistent, doing what you know to do. You don't rush what God is developing. Waiting does not mean stop, it means stay faithful,

Staying Faithful in the Process

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keep praying, keep showing up, keep obeying because growth doesn't come from rushing, it comes from remaining. And you don't want to rush something so quick to where it's not a finished product. It's trying to uh get something to where it's supposed to be in a very, very quick amount of time rather than waiting for it to develop, which leads me to number three

Point 3: Waiting Has a Reward

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is waiting has reward. Waiting has a reward. So the farmer waits because he expects something, not guessing he's expecting because he trusts the process. We we did a a week series talking about how we need to trust the process when it comes to growth. Not and he's not a guessing, he can he's he's expecting because he trusts the process.

Waiting Is Not Wasted—It’s Working

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Waiting is not wasted, it's working, even when you don't see it. So what feels like delay is actually development. Some of y'all need to write that down a little bit out and put it on your mirror. That that

What Feels Like Delay is Actually Developing

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that waiting, uh, if what feels like delay is actually development. What feels like silence is actually preparation. So you go from delay to development to fruit. And Jesus didn't rush the process, y'all. He prepared 30 years for three years of ministry. Why? Because God, because what God builds, he builds to last. So let me ask you this where are you rushing what God is trying to grow? Where are you frustrated instead of faithful? Because if you walk away too early from the thing God is trying to develop in you, you miss what he's producing. So listen, don't rush the process. Trust him. Stay planted, stay faithful, stay ready. Because listen, redeemed rebels, we don't quit

Rebel Close: Grow in the Waiting

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in the waiting. We grow in it. Amen. Thank you

Outro

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for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help other people be equipped to be redeemed rebels, give us a follow and share it around with your friends. We'll see you next time.