Patience Is an Attribute of God
"And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth' " (Exod. 34:6, NKJV).
One of the many Bible stories illustrating the patience of God was His dealing with Nineveh. The prophet Jonah recognized God's patience: " 'Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm' " (Jonah 4:2, NKJV).
Note some of the other qualities that patience is combined with in Exodus 34:6. God's grace, mercy, lovingkindness, goodness, and truth protect and sustain even the most hardened sinners in order to give them the maximum time and advantage to turn their lives around. If God struck out at people as quickly as humans frequently do, we'd all be dead.
Why is God patient with sinners? (2 Pet. 3:8, 9). How have you seen the reality of this truth manifested toward yourself or toward others?
If someone were to ask you how you picture God in your mind, how would you describe Him? This is revealing, because how a Christian thinks of God has a lot to do with his world view and how we treat others. If we see God as angry and quick to punish, how would we likely treat others in the church and in our homes?
How can we learn to do what the Lord calls us to do in Romans 15:5?
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