60 – God the Patient

God is not slow, though in our short attention span it can seem like He has forgotten all about us.

God is above all of our circumstances, though He is also in those circumstances with us. The Bible teaches that God is “near to the broken-hearted”. Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died. Having lived and suffered on Earth, Jesus knows our situation. Yet, Jesus remains beyond the ability for our circumstances to destroy him.

God can stand and observe our situation without limit, not because He doesn’t see or doesn’t care, but because He is strong enough to be patient. He doesn’t need to quickly finish so He can go sleep or grab a snack or visit the WC.

As a child I asked why we need Satan. Now, I have finally come to understand that God will never get rid of Satan—we will. God is patiently waiting until that time, preparing us for that time.

Many people have not yet worked out whether they like Satan. They say they want to do good, but then they go do something stupid. People complain about corruption in government and business, but then they go and do morally corrupt things in their families and among Chistian friends. God asks us the same question every day, “Why do you allow evil in your world? Are you ready to get rid of it yet?” Once we get resolved on our answer, God will give us the tools to put Satan and his servants into the fire forever. But, we aren’t there yet. We’re still making up our minds, so it seems.

Every day, try to at least act like you have made up your mind about getting rid of Satan. Do what is good, make the world around you a little better, let your life be a reason for people to make up their minds about God.

While we take our time and sort out which way is up and down, God will be there, patiently watching, patiently nudging us in the right direction, and, when necessary, patiently giving us a catastrophe here or there to help turn our short attention spans back toward His everlasting patience.