God wants us to trust Him, and in order to do so, we must gain knowledge of and become better acquainted with His character, which He revealed to Moses.
However, God’s character is also revealed to us through the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is the product of the work of the Holy Spirit to develop the character of God in the life of the believer. Thus, the fruit of the Spirit tells us a great deal about the qualities of God’s character.
Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV
“[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
An incredible component of the fruit of the Spirit is longsuffering; it is also an attribute of God’s character.
3. GOD IS LONGSUFFERING AND PATIENT
Psalm 145:8 NKJV
“The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.”
I used to think that God was intolerant and easily got angry; I used to imagine Him with a big stick and ready to strike, if we did something wrong. Actually, I tried to live right, not because I wanted to, but because I was very scared of God and didn’t want to offend Him.
Therefore, it was very liberating to learn that, actually, God is longsuffering and patient. To be longsuffering is to have self-restraint when one is stirred to anger. A longsuffering person does not immediately retaliate or punish; rather, he has a “long fuse” and patiently forbears.
God’s longsuffering is associated with His mercy (His covenant loyalty of favour towards us. Therefore, He restrains Himself and does not punish or execute judgement immediately. He waits and waits, to give us a chance to repent, make amends or change. Even though He knows what the end would be, He still waits to give us a chance. Being longsuffering is not the absence of anger, but being slow to anger.
Nahum 1:3 NLT
“The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.”
To be longsuffering is to have the power or capacity to endure or hold back, from something difficult or disagreeable. God has the capacity to hold back and tolerate a lot of things from us – our sins, unbelief, doubt, insult, indifference, blasphemy, anger, etc – for a while in order to give us the opportunity to repent.
Nehemiah 9:17, 30-31 NLT
“[17] They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them…. [30] In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. [31] But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!”
God is also very patient with us, as we go through the different processes of growth, sometimes having to learn the same lessons over and over again. God forgives us over and over again because of His longsuffering and patience. It is simply in His nature to do so!
Do you think you can trust (this) God? SELAH
For Further Reading: Ezekiel 8; Psalm 103:8; 2 Peter 3:9, 20; Numbers 14:18; Isaiah 48:9; Isaiah 30:18; Psalm 130:4
Fulfilling Our Theme For 2024: “Building The Highway And Lifting The Banner”
“And in that day, there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him…. (therefore) Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the peoples!” [Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah 62:10]
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