Articles
Longsuffering
December 9, 2018
The Fruit of the Spirit - Longsuffering
By Derek Long
Galatians 5:22-23 describes for us the fruit of the Spirit.
It says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” People who are walking in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit and living in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 18, 25) will possess longsuffering.
Longsuffering is basically a compound of the two words “long” and “suffering” in English. “Long” reminds us we cannot quickly give up but must endure. “Suffering” reminds us there will be hardships which will arise but we will be willing to face these hardships. Longsuffering is something we must have when facing trials and tribulation. It is similar in nature to perseverance (Romans 5:3-4). Longsuffering is something we need when dealing with other individuals. Ephesians 4:1-2 tells us “to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.” Our dealings with others will require us to be longsuffering if we are going to conduct ourselves as we should.
Longsuffering is a characteristic possessed by God Himself. Therefore, longsuffering should be present in the lives of children of God who are seeking to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). The Lord revealed Himself to Moses with thefollowing description, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7). God displays His longsuffering with the evil generation which lived prior to the flood. God through Noah preaches to that wicked generation (2 Peter 2:5) but they failed to respond except for Noah and his family. 1 Peter 3:20 speaks of this instance of God’s longsuffering. It says, “who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” God certainly displayed His longsuffering throughout the Old Testament with the nation of Israel. They often rebelled against God, failed to trust in His promises, and complained about God’s blessings (Numbers 14:18). Despite how horribly the people treated God, He continued to display longsuffering toward them. The Psalmist remembers God’s longsuffering in Psalm 86:15. He says, “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” It is due to God’s longsuffering that the Lord has not returned yet. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” It would do us good to consider how longsuffering God has been toward us and others when we are tempted to fail to be longsuffering ourselves.
Longsuffering gives us the ability to persevere when we face trials and persecutions. Paul reminds Timothy of the
conduct he saw Paul display throughout his life. 2 Timothy 3:10-11 says, “But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra - what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.” Paul displayed longsuffering by not giving up on serving God when things got tough and he faced persecution for the cause of Christ.
Longsuffering gives us the ability to be patient with others even when they wrong us. Timothy is instructed to, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and
teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). As Timothy teaches others, he is reminded he will need to have longsuffering. People may need many opportunities to grasp a concept or learn the truths we already know. Instead of giving up or getting upset, we need to have longsuffering with them. In our relationships with others we will encounter times when others wrong us and we must continue to love and be patient. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up.” Love requires us to be longsuffering with others. Longsuffering helps us not to be quickly angered when others mistreat us, etc. James 1:19-20 says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
Are we filled with the fruit of the Spirit? Are we people who possess longsuffering? If we lack longsuffering, let’s work to develop it so we might bear the fruit of the Spirit.
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