“…so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.” (Zechariah 8:15)
I acknowledge that I am not a patient man. I give up on my chainsaw after four stalls. I push either of our cats off my lap when their weight feels just a little warm. I fast-forward through television commercials.
Maybe you aren’t patient, either. Do you give up on a leader after they say two stupid things? Do you walk away from a friend after they don’t treat you the way you need? Do you forgive once, maybe twice… but never three times?
God’s wrath is a terrible thing. He is infinite, and His capacity for justice, just desserts, and righteous anger at Sin and sinners is infinite. As much as we might fear tornados, diseases, government overreach, cruelty, hate, and Satan, God’s wrath is much worse.
But God’s patience is a wonderful thing. He is infinite, and His desire to forgive, to ease the effects of our Sin, and to bless is infinite.
The story of Biblical Israel is a story of rebellion, forgetting God, and contumacy. And God reacts each time, over and over, repeatedly, numerous times, with patience. The story of Biblical Israel seems to end, though, with God’s anger finally reaching a limit. Both the Northern Kingdom AND the Southern Kingdom are gone. God’s people are spread throughout the Middle East.
And then God shows once more His patience.
He promises to bless His people again.
And He does.
Even the worst thing in the universe, God’s Wrath, ends with forgiveness. Even the worst thing in the universe, God’s Wrath, ends with faith, hope, and love. Even the worst thing in the universe, God’s Wrath, ends with Jesus.
Because God decided to expend ALL of that wrath on His Son, on the Cross, instead of on God’s People.
Fear not, because God is patient.