In the Old Testament, there are times it appears that God is not very patient. He exacts justice quickly. I am so glad that God is patient with me and with those around me. Exodus 34:6-7 says,
“The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…”
God is merciful to me…He extends grace to me…He is longsuffering with me…He is forgiving to me…He is good all the time. Psalm 145:8 says,
“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger and great in mercy.”
God shows compassion towards me…He is slow to anger with me. Maybe, God’s patience comes from His forgiveness. God not only forgives…but He forgets. That means He never holds our past over our heads or reminds us of our failures. Someone once said that if we, as a believer, asked God what the worst sin we ever committed was, that God would respond… “I don’t remember.” The forgiveness of God is so complete that it is as if we had never sinned. Forgiveness is a wonderful gift. There would be no hope if we had to keep carrying all the regret, shame, and guilt of our past. Many heroes of the faith in the Bible failed God at one point or another. But, they became a hero of the faith because they sought God and His forgiveness. God is patient…but better yet…He is forgiving.
Bro. David