Love Is Long Suffering

(Psa 145:8 KJV)  The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

(Proverbs 2 also read)

God is capable of great wrath.  We know that He came down hard on Israel.  What we often forget when people are talking about the violence of God is that little phrase in this verse, “slow to anger”.  Remember that God is love.  Remember the first quality of love in I Corinthians, patience or long suffering.

Imagine if we actually received justice for our actions and attitudes.  The world would not be concerned about over-population.  There would be even more “Help Wanted” signs.  God is patient but keep in mind that He does have His limits.

So?  Live with an attitude of obedience, confession and repentance.  You will have nothing to fear.  

Past Due

Psalm 78:38 (KJV) But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.

(Proverbs 25 also read)

Pagans and atheist love to accuse the God of the Old Testament of being full of wrath.  They like to say that the God of the New Testament is totally different.  As I have said other places, they overlook the extreme patience that God exhibited in withholding punishment from Israel.

This verse points out that reality.  Israel had deserved and earned abundantly God’s wrath.  They deserved to be punished.  They had it coming, so to speak.  In spite of that God withheld His revenge.  But even God eventually is brought to the point of disciplining His people.

Did He withhold His wrath because there was a faithful remnant?  Did that remnant wander to the point where He realized there was no one left to shelter?  We don’t know why He finally discipline them, but He did.

So?  God is incredibly patient.  He was patient with Israel.  He is patient with us.  On one side that should bring joy to your heart, but it should also remind you not to think you’re going to take advantage of His kindness.  Live in righteousness.  Walk upright.  Glorify your God.  

Modeling Behavior

1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV) Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

(Proverbs 15 also read)

It’s strange being caught between the witness of the love chapter and the retribution of Jeremiah chapter 9.  Both speak of the nature of our God.  We often hear about how violent the Old Testament is and how God is so full of wrath while Jesus is love.  It’s a phony contrast.  Keep in mind that the Old Testament covers over 1000 years and you are witnessing centuries of God’s patience before He finally acts.  In the New Testament you’re talking about decades.  Patience requires time to be demonstrated.

I actually like the KJV here in the sense that it says that patience means “long suffering”.  God has definitely suffered long.  He endured the disobedience and rebellion of Israel year after year after year.  He sent prophet after prophet.  He pleaded with them.  They went merrily on their way and eventually they paid the price.

God is also patient with us.

So?  Again, I say don’t push your luck.  God is patient.  He has long suffering.  He will give us every benefit of the doubt.  Eventually, we will force him to move.  I pray that He would move in the direction of salvation.  

Joyful Triumph

Psalms 47:1 (KJV) [[To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.]] O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

(Proverbs 25 also read)

I began reading this in the NASB.

Psalms 47:1 (NASB95) For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.

And as I moved into the next verse, I noticed that it went from joy to fear.  The KJV goes from triumph to terrible.  The contrast struck me.  I looked at the footnote in the NASB and it had the idea of shouting with great enthusiasm.  So it wasn’t just rejoice in the sense of having beaten down someone else, but it is trust Him in the sense of joyful victory.

There’s a very real sense in which God wants us to live in victory but I think that the nuance presented by the word “joy” might give us a better insight into our attitude toward that victory and the nature of that victory.  Every day will not seem like we are winners.  Often it will feel like we were given the short end of the stick.  That’s when we need to realize that God is on the throne and that He’s watching what happens and He’s working things out for His glory and His purpose.

So?  Live in the joy of knowing the things that happened to you can have glorious outcomes.  It may not happen today or tomorrow.  

Abandoned

Proverbs 22:14 (KJV) The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

It seems to be saying here that some people have been abandoned by God.  In the NASB "cursed" is the word.  This would imply that before the temptation is even in front of us God has already given up on us.

What would cause that to happen?  We know that when we watch His patience with Israel that it takes a lot to make God turn against you.  Is it possible that some people, like Israel, think they can take advantage of their specialness, and flout God?

I repeat a thought I had a while back, and that is that when God chooses to curse someone, it isn’t necessarily an active curse as much as the removal of the protections that He has in place around His people.  So when a person who is defying God comes up to a situation where they would normally be used to having divine assistance, God has withdrawn His Holy Spirit and they fall into the trap.

So?  God is long-suffering.  He puts up with a lot of nonsense from us.  In spite of that, or because of it, I would suggest that we not get in the habit of pressing our luck.  

Timing

Psalms 69:17 (KJV) And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.

(Proverbs 9 also read)

Someone once said something to the effect, “I want patience, and I want it now”.  We can see the humor in that when we don’t say it.  Somehow, it’s a little bit more necessary when we are the one making the demand.

How often do we lecture God on His timing?  How standard is our expectation that He conform to our schedule instead of us waiting for Him?  I fear it’s more often than it should be.

This is not a criticism of asking God to move.  It’s not a a criticism of telling people going through trouble to be more patient.  It’s about the fact that we often think that we know what needs to be done now more than God does.  We often forget that there is much to be learned through the struggle and through the times of trust.

So?  Pray.  Feel free to ask.  I guess you could even demand, in a sense.  But the key is to trust and to learn in your haste to hasten and slow down with confidence. 

Patience 2

(Psa 95:10 KJV)  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

(Proverbs 4 also read)

How do you define patience?  How long do you wait for results?  We live in the day of instant gratification.  We live in the day of instant communication.  We live in the day of instant oatmeal.  How satisfying is all of that?

But God was not seeking gratification, He was seeking obedience, love.  He was waiting patiently for Israel to grow up.  40 years He waited.  At least that seems to be the way you would read this.  My thinking was that He was waiting for them to die because of their disobedience, but this puts a little bit of a different spin on it.  Is this saying that if Israel had repented in the wilderness, they would have been able to go into the promised land?  It sounds that way to me.

So?  God is patient.  He was patient with Israel.  He will be patient with us. 

Wait for It

(Gal 4:4 KJV)  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

(Proverbs 15 also read)

This is a good reminder that God does not run on our schedule.  That is frustrating but He unfolds history following His plans, not ours.  This past year I have seen You Tube click bait with the question of why God waited so long.  I did not bother reading theirs.  I have plenty of my own questions to ask.  

Waiting in hard.  Remember when you were a kid and you had to wait for Christmas day to open presents.  I still want to start the Christmas music early but we have a rule:  Not until after Thanksgiving dinner.  Sometimes waiting adds zest.  Sometimes it inflicts pain.

So?  Make up your mind to pray and tell God how you want things to happen but wait for Him to act.  It will come out that way anyway. 

That Crack in the Sidewalk

(Pro 5:22 KJV)  His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

Today this brought to mind what some might consider a tangent but I think it applies.  Am I the only person who tends to blame others for my own failures?  It could be as general an excuse as blaming the government.  It could be as silly as blaming the dog, and I don’t have a dog.  I know that when I trip over something I glare at the offending spot even if I can’t see what made me stumble.  It obviously couldn’t be my clumsiness.  

I glory in the knowledge that God is patient.  The Bible says God is love.  The first quality listed in the definition of love is patience.  When I look at my life I am amazed at the patience God has for me as well as the rest of the world.

So?  Rejoice in God’s patience but don’t take it for granted.  We are expected to grow in grace.  If it was good enough for Jesus as a child it is good enough for us. 

Disconnect Your Buttons

(Pro 3:30 KJV)  Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

We wear our feelings on out sleeve.  We have thin skins.  We have buttons that can be pushed.  Admit it but don’t live with it.  The call for us is to rise above all that.  I think it is implied that there are times to “strive” (contend NASB) (7378) but the implication is overshadowed by the command.  

There is a attitude involved here.  We tend to look to hard and too long for justification for our response.  We are too willing to find a reason.  The spirit of this is to stop looking, shrug your shoulders and get on with life.

So?  Yes, you.  And of course, me.  This is not an expectation we have for the other guy but the standard God has for us.

Hang Time

(Pro 15:25 KJV)  The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

Today I am liking the “tear down” (5255) of the NASB to the “destroy” of the KJV.  It is reminding me that the destruction of the rebellious does not always take place overnight.  In fact I would submit that it is usually gradual.  I look at families that seem to have done the right things and yet their children take the wrong path.  We always need to make allowance for free will and people making their own decisions but I always wonder if much of the tragedy we see could have been avoided by a lot of little decisions to be obedient and choices of the narrow road.  Since we are not God and can’t read hearts it is not for us to judge.  All we can do is make sure our path is the narrow road.

The gradual decent sometimes makes it hard to see.  That is the bad part.  On the other hand, a gradual deterioration makes it possible to repent and recover before total disaster is reached.  It speaks well of God’s patience that He gives us the rope and is a sad truth about our resistance that we use it to hang ourselves instead of making a knot.

So?  God is patient.  He gives us all the time we need to make the right choices.  I would guess that when He knows we will not respond He steps up the pace of destruction.  Live in wisdom. 

Christmas Pests

(Pro 25:17 KJV)  Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.

Lets take a look at this from the opposite direction.  This is very pertinent over the Thanksgiving to New Years season.  It is clear that we are being warned about being a pest.  Got it.  What also is important is our response to the pest.  We all have them in our lives either on a regular basis or at unforeseen moments.  I am thinking about how I should be responding to this kind of person.

One of the great devises of modern technology is caller ID.  I am sure you have never done this but it is possible to ignore someone if you don’t want to talk to them.  I use it all the time for spam.  So far I don’t have a lot of memory of ignoring people because I am in a bad mood or they create a bad mood.  I think it might be justified if you have people who call and talk about nothing for hours.

When they show up at the door it is a bit more dicey.  If you are having that type of relative over for Christmas then get yourself ready now.  We need to respond through both the definition of agape, long suffering, and the admonition to not spend a lot of time with fools.

So?  Again, no one said walking in righteousness would be easy.  Engage your mind, listen to the Spirit and be Godly. 

Anger Management

(Pro 22:24 KJV)  Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

My question for the day is, “What do you do when you are forced into regular contact with the kind of person you are to avoid?”  We have all been around people with short fuses.  It happens at work.  It happens if you were drafted into the army like I was.  It happens at school.  I guess it can happen in family.  Here we are told to distance ourselves or terminate the relationship.  How do you do that with your drill sergeant?

Sometimes we have control, or at least options.  At work you might be able to quit or transfer.  In college you might have no other option than that teacher.  Here is where we need to read the rest of Proverbs and look for clues.  Obvious to me is to prepare each day with a big dose of praise and thanksgiving.  Generously season with the word.  Then go forth in trust.  

So?  I am sure there are many other protections available.  Keep looking.  What you missed yesterday may pop up again and be a life saver today. 

Bi-focal Lessons

(Pro 13:1 KJV)  A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.

Do you have children?  Did they frustrate you?  Do they still frustrate you?  Welcome to the human race.  Keep in mind that a major responsibility of parenting is taking an untamed, savage, self-centered carrier of original sin and preparing them to respond to the call of God and the responsibilities of adulthood.  It isn’t easy.  It never has been and never will be.  

One of the things that we tend to forget when we read something like this is that wisdom does not come overnight.  Some are slow to learn.  I remember when I put on my first pair of bifocals.  It took me time to adjust.  Part of that was simply learning new reactions.  I don’t know how many times I bashed my head on the garage door before I learned to duck.  Wisdom is the same way.

So?  You are still learning, or at least I am.  Our children will be the same way.  Keep pestering and meddling until they wake up and say, “Oh, is that what you meant?” 

Rubies or Corners

(Pro 25:24 KJV)  It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

Proverbs does not speak about wives as if they were a monolithic presence.  You have both extremes.  In Proverbs 31 you have the description of the wife that is above rubies.  Here you have the wife that drives you to a corner of your own roof.  Picture how hard that would be with our modern roof-lines.  In between you have Sarah nagging Abraham.  

One of the disciplines in understanding scripture and applying it, is to use it as intended with your situation.  If you have the wife of Proverbs 31, rejoice.  If you have the wife of Proverbs 25, hide.  Don’t expect every situation in life to be perfect.  Another thought might be that we should spend more time appreciating what we have.

So?  Rejoice in all the blessings of life.  Endure the sand in your shoe if you can’t remove it.  God give us grace for both.

Payoffs

(Pro 13:21 KJV) Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

The “righteous” (6662) will be “repayed" (rewarded NASB) (7999a).  That is a promise.  Notice that it does not come with a time-line.  It is not a package of heat and serve.  It is not quick oatmeal.  It is an assurance that we will come out on top.  Of course it has the qualifier:  You must be “righteous” (6662).  Don’t let that freak you out.  This is not the unrealistic righteousness that some people say is impossible.  This is the righteousness that is repeatedly referred to throughout the Bible as a principle of God’s people and their lives.  

I like to think of it as a time release capsule.  You may notice nothing at first but in time it will take hold and will continue working as long as needed.

So?  Be encouraged.  Do what is right.  God is watching. 

The Pause

(Pro 25:19 KJV) Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

I am at the age where I cannot assume that my feet will work properly.  It is weird the way I can suddenly develop a pain in one ankle for no reason and after a few steps it will depart.  It isn’t something I can have a doctor check out because, just like in my old cars, if it ain’t broke, you can’t fix it.  

I can’t fix it but I can prepare for it.  When I get up, whether it is from bed the first thing in the morning or from a chair in the middle of the day, I stand with caution.  It only takes a few moments to get mobile.  Sometimes it is just that pause to make sure everything is working.  Other times it is a chance for the parts to come together as intended.  Then I am ready to go.

So?  Before you put any confidence in the people around you, give it a pause.  Consider and pray.  It might keep you from an unexpected fall. 

Eventually

 Pro 20:5 KJV) Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.

There is a bit of a promise here.  It isn’t just that there is a solution to what faces you but that you can find that solution.  The thing we don’t like is that it takes some effort to “draw” (1802a) it out.  Sometimes we act like it isn’t obvious when it is.  You may have seen the meme poster that has a lady saying, “If he already has a wife, God did not bring him to you.”  Other times it might be a bit difficult.  That is the bad news.  The good news is that we can find the answer.

So?  Keep praying, reading, meditating, asking and listening.  Give it the time it needs.

Day Six

(Pro 29:1 KJV) He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

The reminder is, “Hang in there.”  How often have you seen someone, maybe yourself, who has gone the extra mile, put in the effort, paid the price, only to quit just before victory is achieved?  It is a sad situation.  It is such a temptation to focus on what is right in front of us instead of the big picture.  We joke and say we can be encouraged even when society seems to be falling apart because we have read the book and know how it ends.  It is not a joke.  Why do young parents continue to discipline children who say, “I hate you”?  Because they know how it will end if they do not hang in there and they know how it can end if they are faithful.

So?  Hang in there.  Remember they had to walk around Jericho seven days for the walls to come down.  Assume you are on day six. 

Understandable, not Justified

(Pro 19:3 KJV) The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.

I imagine that rage can take many forms.  Some people can seethe with a smile on their face.  Some can pat you on the back and wish they had a knife in their hand.  How often do we say, “No, that’s okay,” when we really want to scream?  It is interesting that one of the definitions of this word has the idea of a sad face.

Is our anger at the Lord ever justified?  I don’t think so.  It might be understandable when we are going through a rocky time.  It might be forgivable when it comes on us suddenly.  In the long view, it is out of place.  Here the causes of the problem are lack of integrity, perversion and ignorance.  And because we are caught or exposed we get angry.

So?  God is patient.  I would say that it is rare that He strikes out at first offenses or even after many disappointments.  And the door is usually open for us when we come to our senses.  We have a lot to be thankful for.