Longsuffering, simply and quickly put, is the ability to suffer long. Do you have the capacity to suffer hardship for a long period of time. Who wants that? Whether we want it or not, we need this quality in our lives. It is an attribute of the Holy Spirit. With His indwelling Spirit; He has given us spiritual tenacity that enables us to endure extremely hard circumstances for prolonged periods of time with peace. Yes, with peace! The ability to suffer long is within you. Our God is longsuffering and we get our longsuffering nature from Our Daddy!
To be longsuffering is to have self-restraint when one is stirred to anger. A woman with the fruit of longsuffering allows the Holy Spirit to walk her through close relationship ties with extremely difficult people. We see this character trait in Abigail, a beautiful and wise woman, who was married to a man named, Nabal. Nabal was a churlish man; he was rude in a mean-spirited and surly way. (1 Samuel 25:3). How is it possible to deal with this type of person on a daily basis? First, we must remember that our God is longsuffering. Then, remember how He suffered long with us before we accepted Him into our hearts. He was long suffering with us and we must remember to exhibit a disposition of longsuffering with others for His glory.
The race length, training, and muscle mass for sprint runners is completely different than the race length, training, and muscle mass for long distance runners. A sprint is a short race. Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least 1.8 miles. The Christian characteristic of long suffering enables Christians to have a spiritual stamina and muscle mass to endure lengthy stretches of rough terrain with relative ease.
God’s Word, His Promises, and His presence are our constant companions in the midst of our hard trials and difficult tribulations. The Word teaches, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering…” Colossians 3:12 We must put on longsuffering. As a marathon runner puts on a Nike jacket to train on chilly mornings; Christians must cloak or robe themselves in longsuffering.
Have you every said this? “I can’t take it, Lord! Not another hour. Not another minute. Not another second. This is unbearable.” God wants us to know we can endure and He instructs us to endure. The Nile is credited as being the longest river in the world. It extends 4,160 miles in length. God’s spirit-filled woman’s longsuffering rivals the length of the Nile River. The Bible says, “By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned…” 2 Corinthians 6:6
My prayer for you is when you need the spiritual disciple of longsuffering it will be well with your soul and you would endure harness as a good soldier. And that you would reflect the beautiful image of Christ to the world, even when you’re being provoked.
Lady Melissa F. Fields, Fearless In High Heels