James exhorts us to “Be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” Everything is temporal. Yes, including the suffering that we at times endure. The great backdrop of comfort for us, regardless of what we are going through, isn’t so much that soon we will stop suffering.  Rather, it is the fact that soon the Lord will be returning again! Then, and truly only then, Jesus will stop all suffering.  James reminds us also of Job’s perseverance in his lengthy and devastating ordeal that he went through. This illustration was given not to point to Job’s suffering, but to remind us of what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.