God doesn’t require us to practice patience; we do. His flawless nature includes patience, which is a divine quality. But God’s patience is a lesson that is frequently ignored, and the church suffers when it doesn’t thank God for His patience.
Being patient can be challenging at times. We can get weary of waiting if we keep bringing our problems to the Lord. We cannot fully understand God’s patience because it is excellent and unmatched. Nevertheless, as we study God’s patience in Scripture, we start to see how exceptional it is and that it has boundaries.
Contents
What Is The Patience Of God In The Bible?
The God we encounter in the Holy Scripture is a patient God[1] who never gives up. He typically follows the convoluted way to complete His goals. He takes His time to keep His commitments. He makes a mustard seed the analogy for His dominion.
Slow To Anger God
The slow-to-wrath God of Exodus 34:6 is none other than “the Lord,” Yahweh, the God Israel knows by covenant. God’s patience, like His love, has unique significance for His chosen people (Exodus 3:13–15). Amazingly, the account of God’s interactions in the Holy Scripture shows a notable lack of wrath against His covenant people and even those who despise and oppose Him.
Colossians 3:12–13
Put on tender hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience as God’s holy and beloved people, bearing with one another and, if one has a grievance against another, forgiving one another; for as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
2 Peter 3:8–9
Remember this, dear ones: with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but instead that everyone attains repentance. He is quick to fulfill His promise as some count slowness.
1 Timothy 1:16
But I received mercy because Christ Jesus might first demonstrate His unending patience to me. Therefore, I serve as an example for others who will trust in Him for eternal life. You can offer your eternal faith to God in exchange for the patience He extends to you.
What Is The Beauty Of God’s Patience?
God’s patience is reaching out a hand, an open door, and a way back home. It turns us around toward “seek the Lord while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6), whether following a dreadful lapse or simply a wrong moment, just as Jesus Christ arrived at Matthew at the tax booth. The steadfast love of God leads us to repentance no matter who we are or where we are.
The Lord is patient and full of compassion, forgiving sin and wrongdoing, but He will never absolve the guilty, visiting the sins of the fathers on their offspring to the third and fourth generations (Numbers 14:18).
Colossians 1:10–11
To behave in a way that is honorable to the Lord and wholly pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in all good deeds and growing in the knowledge of God, and being empowered with all the might of the Lord for all endurance and patience with joy.
James 5:7–8
Brothers, practice patience till the Lord’s arrival. Observe how the farmer patiently awaits the earth’s prized produce when the early and late rains arrive. You, too, exercise patience. Set your hearts in place since the Lord’s return is drawing near.
Jonah 4:2
He begged the Lord, “Oh Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own nation? Since I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God who is slow to wrath and abounding in lovingkindness and who shows mercy in the face of disaster, I fled to Tarshish in order to prevent tragedy.”
And what do we discover when we return to Him, repenting of our sins? A father is waiting for us in the distance (Luke 15:20). We find out a Savior who has been knocking for some time (Revelation 3:20). We discover an immensely forgiving and abundantly redeeming God (Isaiah 55:7; Psalm 130:7).
The Bible says that we should be compassionate with others for no reason other than that God is patient with us. The Bible reads, “Bear with one other and accept one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. As the Lord, a God merciful, has pardoned you, forgive” (Colossians 3:13). Keep this in mind the next time you start to lose patience with someone.
Is There A Limit To God’s Patience?
Many Christians have misused God’s grace. Some people believed there was no longer a need for repentance and confession of sins because God had already pardoned all of their transgressions. God’s patience has a limit. Therefore we still need to confess our sins and repent. Hebrews 12:4–12 states that He has the authority to correct His children.
Jesus cautioned the Israelites of the New Testament era not to test God’s patience beyond what is reasonable. Yet the Jews, who were known as God’s people and were familiar with the Torah, rejected their Messiah.
Although the Jews could not contest Christ’s witness and miracles, they chose not to accept them, so their time ran out. To prevent them from being converted, God closed their hearts and made their eyes blind (John 12:37–40).
Even people who adore and serve God sometimes receive His righteous anger. As Moses begged God to send someone else, the Lord had His wrath prepared and instructed Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh. The justifications offered by God’s followers disgust Him. When they resist orders, He loses patience.
God’s wonderful patience is not to be confused with His grace. If one’s wicked behavior is not immediately judged, one may mistakenly believe there won’t be any repercussions. God is exceedingly patient, yet it’s naïve to think there won’t be a day of judgment.
James 1:2–4
Remember this: “My brothers, when you have difficulties of any type, count it all joy since you already know that adversity strengthens your faith. And let perseverance work its full magic so that you are flawless and whole, needing nothing.”
God’s silence about sin does not indicate His favor, and challenging God to a game is foolish because He is unbeatable. Those who insult or oppose Him cannot stop His plans. His sovereign intentions will always win out.
Lessons To Learn In Light Of God’s Patience
God’s beautiful love is characterized by patience, and He is aware of our frailty. While He gradually molds His own until they reflect the Lord Jesus in the world, His immense patience frequently involves a component of loving punishment. He truly blesses the believer with His perfect patience.
1. The first thing we can learn about God’s kindness from the Bible is that it is necessary to enjoy the benefits. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the correct time we will reap a crop if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). This verse emphasizes that there is a proper time to reap, but frequently we lack the patience necessary to get there.
But, some of the best benefits we might experience take time to manifest. To see the desired effects, we must be patient. You will never get the help of a tree if you plant a seed but continually uproot it to see how it is doing.
2. While you aren’t seeing the rewards of your work right away, keep going. There is a right time to reap the harvest, as the Bible states in Galatians 6:9, but we can only do so if we are patient and do not give up too soon. As Jesus predicted in John 16:33, “In this world, you will have tribulation.” The best we can do is patiently endure them as they grow more complex.
3. The Holy Scripture’s next lesson on patience is to avoid using it to justify doing nothing. Have you ever stated, “I am waiting on God,” or have you heard someone else say it? Even though it’s sometimes essential to wait on God, the Holy Scripture suggests that it’s up to us occasionally to take action.
4. We can take action in other aspects of eternal life, yet we believe God should decide. When God has already given us the power to achieve something, we can claim we are patiently waiting for Him.
It is similar to patiently waiting for financial blessings when God has given us the capacity to generate wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) or patiently waiting for divine healing when all we need to do is eat well.
5. Having so much patience while going through adversities is a further lesson on patience that we may take away from the Holy Scripture. “Rejoice in our confident hope,” says Romans 12:12. We all go through difficulties in life, and while they aren’t pleasant, the Holy Scripture instructs us to endure them patiently.
The Holy Scripture states that perseverance develops strength of character, and character enhances our confident faith in salvation and that patience is necessary to persist through hardships (Romans 5:4). Trials help us grow as humans when we are patient. Each time we persevere patiently through a trial, we are more patient overall.
Conclusion
We must remember that we once required others to be patient with us if we are to be more patient with others. After overcoming a hardship, we tend to forget that we once didn’t know what we were doing and frequently lose patience with those still struggling in the same area.
Finally, the Holy Scripture instructs us to have patience because God’s patience waited also for us. We all need to be patient when dealing with other people, going through challenges, or waiting on God. Moreover, ask for help from the Holy Spirit and remember that acting inaction is not an acceptable response when patience is required to obtain good benefits in this world.