Definition of brinkmanship: "The art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping...."

These last few years may someday be called the years of brinkmanship.  Everywhere we see it.  China goading Japan.  North Korea goading South Korea and the United States.  In the Middle East everyone challenging each other so far without a major eruption.

We even see brinkmanship in economics and politics.  Everywhere we look we see the game of brinkmanship being played.  But the worst game being played is on the field between God and man.  You can almost hear the shouts of "Let's push God as far as we can!"
 
According to the very definition of brinkmanship, it is a dangerous game.  On every field of play someone is likely to push someone else past the point of no return.  Someone will burst the bubble and it seems likely to happen on a number of fronts simultaneously.
 
Three years ago it was predicted by news pundits that Syria's regime would be ousted and yet they are still in power.  Full scale war was predicted in the Middle East and we are still holding our breath.  The stock market was predicted to crash, but we are still cashing our dividends.

A. W. Pink, a Christian evangelist (1886-1952), once wrote, "Personally we would define the Divine patience as that power of control which God exercises over Himself, causing Him to bear with the wicked and forebear so long in punishing them. In Nahum 1:3 we read, "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power."
 
Stephen Charnock, a Puritan writer, said, "It is a want of power over that man’s self that makes him do unbecoming things upon a provocation. A prince that can bridle his passions is a king over himself as well as over his subjects. God is slow to anger because great in power. He has no less power over Himself than over His creatures."

God's patience is longsuffering, but not without limits.  We are warned of what will happen when the dangerous game of brinkmanship is played out to its final conclusion.  Fools play the game of brinkmanship.  God will have the final word.
 

Just my thoughts.
 

YBIC

Bruce Baber