The Strength of Being Slow to Anger

One of the greatest misunderstandings we carry into our walk with God is this we assume He is like us.

We imagine that His kindness is as fragile as ours, His forgiveness as reluctant, and His patience as short. And when we carry that misconception into our relationship with Him, it leads to anxiety, insecurity, and a constant sense of falling short. As theologian John Owen once put it, “Want of a due consideration of him with whom we have to do… is the cause of all our disquietments.”

But thank God, He is not like us.

Not Like Our Patience

God speaks through Isaiah and declares, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). His patience, like His power and love, is beyond anything we can produce or comprehend. Human patience fades; God’s is boundless. Ours falters with each offense; His persists through generations of rebellion.

One of the most repeated declarations of God’s character in the Bible is this: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Exodus 34:6). That’s not just poetic. It’s God’s own self-revelation. And that slowness to anger isn’t passivity it’s purposeful mercy.

When Judgment Could Have Fallen

Consider the moment in Exodus. Israel, freshly redeemed from Egypt and drenched in the promises of God, turns almost instantly to worship a golden calf. They saw His miracles. They heard His voice. And yet, they chose idolatry. A just God could have destroyed them. Instead, He gave them His name. Instead of thunder, grace. Instead of wrath, patience.

And that’s not an isolated event. God delayed judgment on the wickedness of Noah’s generation for years as the ark was built (1 Peter 3:20). He waited four generations before judging Canaan (Genesis 15:16). Even Egypt, which enslaved His people, received nine warnings before final judgment (Exodus 11:4–8). Over and over, we see a divine restraint that far exceeds human standards.

A 2023 Barna study found that 59% of American adults view God as “angry” or “judgmental.” Yet the dominant theme throughout Scripture is not God’s eagerness to punish, but His slowness to do so. Even when the psalmists cried, “How long, O Lord?” it was often in reference to God’s surprising patience with evil (Psalm 94:3). God delays judgment not because He’s weak, but because He’s gracious.

Patience With His People

If God is slow to anger with His enemies, how much more so with His children?

The apostle Paul described himself as “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” of Christ (1 Timothy 1:13). Yet he says God saved him “so that Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience” (1 Timothy 1:16). In other words, Paul’s salvation was a case study in divine forbearance a message to all sinners: you have not out-sinned God’s patience.

And God’s patience didn’t end the day you first believed. He is not like a landlord who gives you a key and then watches your every move with suspicion. He is the Father of the prodigal, who runs to meet His child even after failure (Luke 15:20). His mercy is not a one-time offer. His patience is not a trial period.

Even now, His patience sustains your every breath, every moment of weakness, every return to sin. “He does not deal with us according to our sins” (Psalm 103:10), because His nature is to be patient with those He loves.

Jesus, Patience in Flesh

The patience of God reaches its climax in Jesus Christ.

Jesus lived among sinful people as the sinless One. He bore with His disciples’ slowness, His enemies’ hatred, and His people’s fickleness. Even His own family misunderstood Him. And yet He did not lash out. He endured, patiently.

And then He died not in a rush of divine vengeance, but in a calculated act of love. Though He could have summoned legions of angels (Matthew 26:53), He remained silent. He bore the mocking, the beatings, the nails. He prayed for His killers: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). That is patience supreme.

Why does God continue to be patient with us? Because Jesus, by His suffering, satisfied justice and purchased mercy. Romans 3:25 explains that “God put [Jesus] forward… to show His righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.” The cross is both the proof and the provision of God's patience.

And now, our risen Savior intercedes for us without ceasing (Hebrews 7:25). As long as Jesus lives and He lives forever God’s patience toward you will not run out.

Return to Him

So what should we do in light of such extravagant patience?

Isaiah says it clearly: “Return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on you… for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). God’s patience is not permission to remain in sin it’s an open door to repentance. It’s an invitation to come home.

Whether you’ve drifted far, or just feel numb and dry today, God’s patience says, “Come back.” If you’ve failed again in the same way, He’s not weary of your repentance. If you’re ashamed to speak His name, He’s still calling yours.

He is not like you. His patience is not worn thin. His mercy is not capped. His welcome does not expire. His kindness is not fragile.

He is slow to anger.

Return to Him again, and again, and again. And in returning, find rest.

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