THE
LONG-SUFFERING GOD
Memorise:
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but
is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. 2nd Peter 3:9
Read: Jonah 3:5-10, Bible in one year: 2nd Kings 10:1-11:20, Luke 9:28-50
When the Bible in 1st
Corinthians 13:4 says that love suffers long, it aligns with the character of
God and confirms that God is love indeed. Our God is a longsuffering God. It is
His longsuffering that has kept the world intact till now; otherwise He would
have destroyed it many times over. It is however unfortunate that man tends to
take the longsuffering of God for granted. Many have lost the opportunity of
being forgiven because they failed to repent until death caught up with them. I
was praying for a king who was sick in one city in south-west Nigeria , and
the Lord told me to ask him to repent of his sins if he wanted to be healed. He
was reluctant to do so, and he refused to repent until he gave up the ghost.
The Bible in 2nd Corinthians 6:2 says:
“(For
he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation
have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day
of salvation.)”
One city that enjoyed the longsuffering
of God and put it to good use was the city of Nineveh . The longsuffering of God kept this
great city alive while God gave them time to repent. When this longsuffering
started waxing thin, He sent Prophet Jonah to warn them to repent. The Bible in
Jonah 1:1-2 says:
“Now
the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh , that great city,
and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”
What a gracious and merciful God He is!
Thank God that heeded His warning and repented; from the king of the least
person in the city. The longsuffering of God is demonstrated in the fact that
even Jonah was running away from the great responsibility of warning this city,
God still put up with them until His warning go to them.
To someone reading this devotional
today, I want you to know that the purpose of God’s longsuffering is to give
you the opportunity to repent and not be destroyed. I therefore encourage you
to give your total life to Jesus Christ and stop postponing the day of your
salvation, because tomorrow may be too late. Jesus is standing at the door of
your heart; I encourage you to open it to Him so that He can come in with His
forgiveness, salvation, healing and all-round peace.
Action
Point
Examine
your life and see where you need to turn a new leaf, and do so today.
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