Patience

Jason Nelson

My pastor said in a sermon, “Patience is going at someone else’s speed.” Wow! That is profound. I never heard that before. I was glad I was paying attention. I wish I would have heard it a long time ago. I thought patience was what I needed to exercise because people weren’t going at my speed. You mean all those times I was pushing others along, they were really being patient with me?

I guess it all depends on our internal clocks. Mine is a stopwatch. I always hear the sound of time running out. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. I think my wife’s internal clock is an hourglass. Maybe that’s why she regularly asks me, “What’s the hurry?” And God’s internal clock is eternity. It’s rush proof. We are more likely to lose patience with God than he is to lose patience with us. We get tired of waiting around for him to do something.

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:8,9).
God has been patient with us for thousands of years. I think he will continue to be patient with us until he sees it is no longer in our best interest.

Devotion used by permission of Time of Grace®. For more information, visit timeofgrace.org