The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
We are instructed to be patient, submitting ourselves willingly, even joyfully, to God’s timeline. So, what does it mean for God to be patient? Does the God of the universe wait on us? Yes and no. His timeline still rules but He knows what is needed for those who will come to Him.
The patience of God is usually associated with anger, or rather, withholding anger. This patience refers less to timing and more to His forbearance of our sin and rebellion. He is holding back deserved judgment.
Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. Proverbs 14:29
In this sense, we are also to be like Him. We are to bear with those who have wronged us, waiting on Him for a redemptive time to act.
God is patient – but it will not be without end. There will be a coming judgment when all things will be made right. We need to be patient, though we eagerly await it, for that time to come.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12
