I am a great believer in allowing adults to get to the end of their rope when they insist on pursuing a self-destructive course. Though it can be frightening to watch someone unravel as they pursue a foolish path, we can pray that it will eventually create the space for God to work.
That was the pattern in my own life. As a college student I was swallowed up in a relativistic culture whose slogan was “if it feels good do it.” It wasn’t long before I became immersed in the drug culture and my life began to fall to pieces. It would take a few years, but by the grace of God I came to a place where I realized my only hope was Christ. He knew the precise moment I would face the graveness of my situation, tasting the bitterness of sin and calling it what it was. There, in the midst of near hopelessness he extended his grace and saved me. Looking back I see how patient he was, always pursuing and never giving up on me.
What if he had not been patient? What if he had simply struck me down, punished me as I deserved? Called me out for a fool and then destroyed me? Then he would not be the God I have come to know. He would not be the lover of my soul nor the lifter of my head. He wouldn’t be so many of the things we sing about. But glory be to God, he is all these things and more.
Today, as you think about the Lord who is slow to anger and who postpones judgment, consider all the ways he has shown patience with you. Praise him and ask him for the grace to display his patience to others.
