Patience
God is so patient - let’s just pause right there.
Close your eyes with me and just think about the times that God held back His judgement from you and from the people you know. Think about how God held back His wrath. We ought just to praise Him and worship Him for His grace and His mercy. God is so good. God is good all the time! All the time God is good! He is slow to anger and compassionate (Psalm 103:8).
Ladies and gentlemen the patience of God is like no other. Amid our sins and disobedience, He is still there giving us chance after chance to come back to Him. In His love towards us God must discipline us for our sins because that is what a good father does. Any parent that does not hold their child accountable for their actions is harming that child (Hebrews 12:5-12).
There are countless stories in the Bible where God held back His wrath and judgment. He was allowing people the time to repent and turn back from their sins and their disobedience. In the book of Genesis before the flood, during the time of Noah, God gave the people time to return from their wickedness. God waited. He is waiting on us today. This is patience. Perfect patience (1 Timothy 1:16).
Time after time in the Old Testament God gave the Israelites time to turn from their idolatry and their wickedness. He sent signs, prophets, and warnings about what the consequences of their sins would lead to.
After Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt and delivered them from slavery, let’s be honest, they acted up. God was patient over and over. The Israelites complained and murmured about how much better they were in Egypt. They desired to return and be enslaved again. Many of them paid the price for their disobedience.
Let us not be like the Israelites. God is extending His patience to us to allow more people to come into salvation (2 Peter 3:9). God is giving us time to mature in our faith and bring others out of the same jail cells we were once in. God is looking for genuine faith that isn’t dependent on the circumstances, the weather, or the amount of money in your bank account. He wants a surrendered life full of faith in the God almighty who is faithful until the end (Hebrews 11:6).
