The Patience of God
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9
I don’t know if it is possible for the Lord to express frustration or not. On second thought, Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus, when He walked on the earth, was touched with the “feeling of our infirmities” and “in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.” As far as I know, it’s not a sin to be frustrated over our sins and the sins of others. Thus Jesus probably does get frustrated at mankind for the lack of concern that we have over our own sins. There were several times during Jesus’ time of ministry on earth that he became frustrated at His disciples for their lack of faith even after they had just witnessed one of His many miracles.
God promised that any man, woman, or child who turn from their pattern of sinful living and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, committing their lives to Him, will become a precious member of His family. Jesus suffered and died to make that a reality, yet so many fail to take advantage of the greatest privilege in life. This must be extremely frustrating to the Lord, yet He continues to allow people more time to repent.
God must not be a “type A” personality. Otherwise He may have wiped man off the face of the earth a long, long time ago. When I check the news each day and hear things that I never thought that I would hear about the bold actions by politicians, entertainers, and ordinary folks that are completely contrary to how God meant for His creation to live, I am appalled. The latest unbelievable action concerns the legislature of New York which voted to allow abortion up until the moment of birth. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they also voted to allow a baby who survived an abortion to die, I suppose, by withholding treatment and/or food. That blows my mind. How could any human be that cruel to harm the most helpless and innocent among us? To top it off, after the passage of the law, they had a standing ovation and cheered. It’s events like this one that makes me think that this old world can’t go on much longer. I Timothy 4:1-2 tells us “…that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”
However, before we lose hope, we can see how God’s love and mercy are demonstrated in His patience with a world of sinful, indifferent, and prideful people. He is patient with me, and He is patient with you, too, for we are certainly not perfect. Only a sovereign, merciful God could watch what His Son endured and yet still give man a lifetime to repent. The Lord is indeed a patient God, but eventually there will come a day of reckoning.