Longsuffering Like God

Longsuffering is not a word we hear anymore, but it is pretty self explanatory. In the King James, it is used in place of patience when listing the fruit of the Spirit, but it is more than mere patience. It is often translated as “slow to anger” or “great patience” in other translations. It carries with it a note of extended time, and it is plain to see times in the Bible when God had longsuffering with people, but when has He had longsuffering with you? Have you had longsuffering with others?

The Fruit of Patience

Patience is a virtue…I do not possess. I don’t know how many times I have said that, or heard others repeat it. Patience is difficult, and what is worse, it seems to require trials in order to acquire it. Patience is not natural to anyone. Watch a child who has to wait for…anything. It is not only something we have to learn, but it is also something we can only gain from God. The whole mentality of the world is that we can and should “have it NOW!” Even though in most things we can see that patience is the better way, for instance, waiting for the cake to bake all the way instead of taking it out too soon, or waiting for the coffee to cool before we drink it. Impatience usually “burns” us, one way or another. How can we gain more patience?