Galatians 5:22 & 23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
We will continue to work our way through the different parts of the fruit of the spirit. Today we will talk about longsuffering. This is one component none of us like or rarely pray for because to know you have succeeded, you must suffer.
I Corinthians 13:4 tells us that charity, or love, suffers long. That may add to my character and make me more like Jesus, but I will not pray for that component to be refined in my character. I watched my father suffer long as he battled with cancer. He ran the course up and down for four long years and finally died from the consequences of the disease.
I marveled as he would ask me each day of the week to pray for him to be able to make it to church on Sunday. He was able to attend most weeks up until the last month. He loved talking about Jesus and heaven. He loved going to church, being with God’s people, and hearing my son, his grandson, preach. He was not a complainer at all and had a strong resolution to fight the fight well.
I Corinthians 13:4 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,”
We should all be praying that when suffering comes, and it will, we should take it well.
I Peter 2:20 “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.”
Why should we not complain but take it well? Because that is what Jesus did. When we suffer and don’t complain, it speaks volumes to those around us. It tells the Christian that it is possible to bear anything with Christ. It tells the unsaved that there is something different about us. Often, the unsaved will ask: how can you do this, or what is it about you that is so different? This is the perfect opportunity to tell someone about the strength that lies within you. It is a great testimony to both the saved and the unsaved. About a month before my father passed, he told me, “This cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me. I had the opportunity to witness to many who don’t know Jesus, and it has brought me closer to God.” That should be our attitude while suffering.
We have a Savior who sets an example for us. He was beaten until he could not be recognized, yet he never pushed back or tried to retaliate. He didn’t have to suffer; he chose to suffer, not for what he had done but for what we had done.
Matthew 26:67 “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,”
God could have allowed him to be killed some other way. He could have made it a quick and painless death, but he didn’t. God chose the most humiliating, painful, excruciating way to die. None of us have suffered that way. When we have horrible pain, we take a pill. We keep going to doctors until we get relief. We do not choose to suffer, but Christ did.
There is also mental and emotional suffering. When we are treated wrongly by others, usually by family members, it hurts deeply. When a child or spouse is not saved, it can be a pain that is unspeakable.
A Christian knows the outcome of their existence if their loved one doesn’t repent and turn to Christ. They will spend eternity in hell. Yet, so many refuse the love and authority of God. For me, that would be the worst kind of pain. I could deal with any physical pain because I knew where I was going. As the old song says, “This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through.” I have no idea how I would react if a child of mine chose not to follow Christ, but I know many Christians who deal with this longsuffering daily.
We will face suffering one day that may seem unbearable. It may last for years, and the only view out will be death. But rest assured, if we are longsuffering and handle it with the grace that God supplies, we will be a true witness of our Lord Jesus, who paved the way with longsuffering.
