An attribute is a quality or characteristic for which a person is known. We're going to explore several attributes of God over the next few weeks. I'm glad you're joining us!
Does anyone else struggle with patience or is it just me? I think all of us who are human want what we want and we want it when we want it. Waiting is not something we like. There are many times in scripture when David and some of the prophets asked God what He was waiting on.
I think sometimes we think God is impatient, too, that He wants us to change right now, become who He designed us to be in an instant. God is not impatient, though. Not at all.
I believe that comes from His knowing all things and not being constrained by time. He sees all of time as though it were right now, so He sees our breakthroughs as right now, even though we think they’ve taken FOR-EV-ER!
The same with our trusting His promises. We want those right now. We want to see the wicked punished right now. We want to see the new heaven and new earth right now. We want it all right now — not even considering the consequences to ourselves and people we care about.
Because God knows all hearts, He knows those who are His and those who are not. He offers Himself, His sacrifice in Jesus, given to save those who are perishing in their anti-God choices. He longs for all to leave those choices behind and choose Him. His desire is that all should be rescued from those choices.
As a result, He holds off Judgment Day, holds off punishing the wicked as He promised, holds off ushering in the New Heaven and New Earth. Why would He do that? Is it to torture us? Is it to allow the wicked to flourish?
According to Peter, it’s FOR us. That extra time, God’s amazing patience, is for you and me. It’s to allow us the time we need to get our heads on straight and choose to turn from our wicked ways and choose Him and His ways instead. It’s extra time for that parent, sibling, child, relative, friend, and foe to turn to God. When we want what we want, we forget what others need, and thus forget what those things might mean for them.
In today’s world that seems so destructive and filled with chaos, we must remember that God is patiently waiting and watching. He sees all time on a level we can’t imagine. A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day.
Think about that… that makes the Anno-Domini years just 2.021 days. The 400ish years between the testaments wasn’t even half a day. The 400 years Israel was enslaved in Egypt was less than a day. God sees time differently than we experience it.
Because God is patient, we can trust that He will continue to work on us to mold us into the person He designed us to be. We can know that as we surrender to Him and His will, He will guide us and train us to live in the purpose He designed for us.
Coffee, Bible, Journal
