God is Longsuffering - Let's Practice Part 5

“Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” ~  Ps. 86:15

Trusting that you are “Practicing” these Messages, I rejoice!  I have quickly found that as I desire to increase my Love, Joy, and Peace ─ I am, given much opportunity to show forth the Love of God, and Jesus Joy, not to mention His Peace! In all circumstances of our life, we are not alone, for the Lord is ever with us!  This is His promise as we walk in His Spirit and His statutes. Today we explore “Longsuffering.”  It is amazing as we research the Fruit of His Spirit within us; “Longsuffering” for instance, it is something that we no doubt like to shy away from.  That of course is natural, but to think of God in a “Longsuffering” moment causes us to stop for a moment and think about Him, He practices Longsuffering?! We find the word “Longsuffering” appears for the first time in Exodus 34:6. It is our Scripture today for the Prayer Requests. “The Lord passed by Moses and proclaimed that God is Merciful, Gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in Goodness and Truth.”  What was the occasion for this moment that seems to be a “Longsuffering” moment for God? God had given His people Ten Commandments in stone, and when Moses returned with the Tablets of God’s Commandments, he found God’s people worshipping a golden calf.  In anger Moses hurled the Tablets to the ground – they were broken! “Longsuffering of God: He had brought them out of bondage, loaded them down with the treasures of Egypt and spoke audibly to them. But in their lack of Patience [which is a Fruit of the Spirit] while waiting for Moses’ return they sinned grossly against God.  Yet He was “Longsuffering” with them and Moses stood in the gap for them: Ex. 32: “… if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” And in the New Testament, 1 Peter 3:20 we read about disobedience: “Sometimes were disobedient, when once the Longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” We continue to learn that God does not require anything of us that He first has not went through. Think of His Longsuffering as His Only Begotten Son was crucified!  Let us meditate upon the Fruit of His Spirit that He desires of us to practice!   Loving you, Pastor