Patience...Forgiveness

Good Morning,

Proverbs 19:11, 27 (NIV)
A man's wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Stop listening to instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

Verse 11 in Proverbs 19 was the original verse that came my way this morning. Then, in reading all of the chapter, I realized that there is a way in which we gain the wisdom needed in order to have the patience necessary to garner the glory spoken of today.

What I saw...so clear when we take the few moments to read what God has put down for us in the Bible...is the fact that we must listen to His instruction. In that way, when we are inclined to dutifully read and think about what God has set down for us, is that we will NOT stray from His words of knowledge. Then, by being diligent in our reading and studying of His instructions, we gain not just knowledge, but also the wisdom that can come from having that knowledge.

Back to that original verse I noticed...

..."it is to his glory to overlook an offense." Now, this certainly is something that Solomon is saying about forgiveness and the wisdom of forgiving. This is also one of the most difficult things that we have to do in our walk with the Lord. At least it certainly is for me. I guess that I don't have the patiences necessary to be able to gain the glory that comes from overlooking some of the offenses that have been done to me in my life. To take that just a step further, I guess I've simply not listened closely enough to God's instruction and have strayed from His words of knowledge.

I mean, it seems to be a valid process that goes from instruction, to knowledge, to patience, and finally to forgiveness...overlooking an offense, or offenses. Therefore, it is obvious that when we lack something along the way, we can look back to see where we may have fallen short in the process. I believe that this is true for many of us. I don't think I'm the only one who needs further instruction in order to gain better knowledge which will lead to more patience and, therefore, allow me to be a more forgiving person. Does this make sense to you?

Some may not see the inevitable progression from instruction finally to forgiveness. However, I believe that if we look more closely at what God has given us as His book of instruction, we will find that it is really obvious that one can, and does, lead to another and another and another.

That's one of the amazing wonders of the Bible. The answers are there...if we will take the time and the effort to find them. God has given us all the instruction we need in order to lead a more Christ like life. What we have to do is to put those instructions into action and live out what they tell us we should do. Not really complicated, also not easy to actually do. But, well worth all of the effort.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David