Divine Patience

“But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.” (Ps 78:38 AV)

If the truth be told, we are not chastened nearly as much as we should be.  According to this verse, God turns away His anger many times.  He turns that anger away when He would be fully justified in exercising that anger.  The context is the history of Israel.  But let us not be fooled.  We are no different.  As the nation of Israel was, so too is the individual Christian.  We have failed the LORD more times than we can possibly count.  We have turned our backs on Him time and again.  We have allowed the flesh to have the better of us.  And, we have fallen in times of weak faith.  We really are no different.  In many ways, we are worse.  We have the complete revelation of God given to man.  We have it perfect, without error, in written form, and complete.  We also have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  We have far less excuses to make when we fail the LORD than Israel did.  The verse above should be a source of great comfort.  And a source of challenge.

Being a father is one of the greatest privileges God has ever bestowed upon me.  What I have learned about myself and my relationship with the LORD has come as a result of watching my own children and being a steward of their maturity.  Among many truths, one skill that is needed and must be learned quickly is patience.  Along with patience one needs great discernment and wisdom.  These can only come by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Keeping control of one’s own emotions is extremely important.  Frustration and anger must be kept under control, even if letting it out is justified.  Knowing when to use anger as a tool and when to restrain it because it would cause harm is a skill that needs to be learned early and often.  Many times, I have witnessed well-meaning fathers rebuke his child in anger and rage when a simple correction would have sufficed.  The child may have been deliberately disobedient, but sometimes patience is a better teacher.  I know that I have used the event in my life of running from my father when I made a big mistake.  When I finally felt brave enough to face him, all his did was look at me and tell me that he forgave me.  The lack of chastening hurt more than any punishment that he could have ever gave.  Even Paul agrees.  The goodness of the LORD leadeth thee to repentance.

When we begin to think that we are good with God, just remember:  He has restrained His displeasure at the things we have done for more than we realize.  I, for one, can testify to that fact.  I have repeatedly disappointed my Father more times that I can fathom.  Sure, there is chastening.  However, it is far less than I deserve.  I don’t understand this mercy.  But I am grateful for it.  God is a merciful and kind God who loves us more than words can express.   Let us remember this goodness that I might indeed result in repentance.