Nov 20, 2018
The Lord is not slow
in keeping his promise, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance. 2Peter 3:9
Gods patience has a
limit, so stop pursuing sin and turn to Him before it’s too late.
Your forbearance is the entry door for another’s salvation!
That may not please you so much when you have suffered great
pain or difficulty. Your pain may not
seem fair, nor right, when you are going through it. And God doesn’t tell you what the duration
will be, so often our hope is damaged as well.
But rest assured that every suffering is a component of helping others
find Him.
Jesus is the ultimate example of that, suffering the
rejection of men and the limitations of life to die on a cross for the sake of
our eternities. His suffering was so
great it caused Him to sweat blood in the garden. His pain was so intolerable it caused him to
cry out on the cross. He not only felt
the physical pain of crucifixion, Jesus felt the emotional and spiritual pain
of loneliness from men and from His Father.
But others in the Bible also demonstrate this
principle: Abraham waiting for a son,
Isaac suffering under Laban’s control, David & the pursuit of Saul, the
prophets in their rejection from their countrymen, the disciples and Paul in
their rejection and eventual martyrdom.
Your suffering does not go unnoticed, it is God’s tool for
growing our character and for reaching the lost. That doesn’t mean we need to sign up for
suffering or look to increase it, life does enough of that. It DOES mean we need to stay faithful and
trust God to use it, because our testimony is lost if we don’t. Your forbearance really does matter!
Before you get frustrated by that, remember that YOU come to
faith the same way! Someone suffered so
that YOU would know God too!
That church you complain about… it was their members who
paid for the staff, facilities, ministries, and more to help you hear the
message of grace. Those parents that
made mistakes and didn’t understand… they are also the ones who paid the bills
and kept food on the table. The Bible you struggle to read… it was created out
of the sacrifice of thousands of scribes, writers, and eventually other
scholars to get it into a form you could read and have in print. And don’t forget all the teachers, mentors,
coaches, family & friends that have given up their own desires to help you
meet yours! Even if you don’t subscribe
to the idea of a God in control, you can’t escape the sacrifice people have endured
for you. Their forbearance was the
avenue to your blessing.
Stop seeing sin as your right or your outlet, and recognize
it as damage to the salvation of others.
Choose to get stronger in forbearance as a way to free others from their
bondage. Turn to God and bear the cost of
righteousness for your sake and the sake of others.
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