God is Patient

20 Oct God is Patient

Read Jonah 3
Thought for the Day: God is patient!

In the ancient world, there was a basic principle: Rome was brutal, Babylon was more brutal, and Assyria was the MOST brutal. If any nation deserved immediate judgment, everyone thought it was Assyria. However, that is not how God acts now nor is it how He acted then. God’s plan for Nineveh (a large city in Assyria) was to patiently wait until Jonah would go and share the Good News that living for God allows everyone to change.

Therefore, even when Jonah thought it was too late for the people of Nineveh to change, God continued to be patient. Finally, we read in Jonah 3:5, “And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”

How often do we give up on others while God is still being patient? None of us can see this world the way God does. Therefore, even though in the ancient world many thought the Assyrians deserved judgment, they learned that God was patient until the people of Assyria had a change of heart and gave up their violent ways.

We all struggle with patience. At various times, we have people who we believe need to change and just can’t understand their beliefs nor how they live. In those moments, let’s learn the lesson of Jonah. Even though we can’t see how God is working in the hearts of others, we know that He is and we simply need to practice patience!

In Christ,
Pastor Stan (and David)