Longsuffering.

I have been learning quite a bit about this word lately. What has been most evident in this is that my soul is quite foreign to the concept. I often possess such a temporal frame of mind, forgetting the coming eternal Kingdom of which I am already a citizen. Moments deserving to be spent having my mind set on things above are much more often spent pondering fleeting circumstances. These moments are ever descending into the pits of idolatry and ignorant discontentment.

You might ask what longsuffering has to do with idolatry or with contentment. Not long ago, I too would have been perplexed at the relation between the concepts. What is longsuffering? Our dictionaries would define it as being “patient in trouble.” While the Biblical concept of longsuffering encompasses this definition, it means so much more – at a depth that our limited human capacity cannot comprehend. Our sight is often very limited to the temporal and fleeting circumstances of this world.

The Greek word used in the Bible for longsuffering is “makrothumia.” Perhaps one day I will finally learn Greek, but for now I will let the world-wide interwebs give us the definition. This word means “long-tempered,” which exudes the idea of someone not reacting rashly. Most often, it is used in Scripture to describe the holding back of God’s wrath. Our Heavenly Father is longsuffering with us.

I often think about the 17 years of my life that He was patient while I was His enemy, the Sovereign One not wishing that I should perish. And I think even more often now of His forbearance in loving me even as I stumble over those old, dead feet of my flesh. To me, this is the deepest and most heart-wrenching concept of longsuffering: That the perfectly righteous and just God of all creation chooses to hold back His rightful wrath and condemnation from those He loves, bringing us into intimate relationship with Himself. Not only is His wrath held back, but it was poured out on Jesus once and for all, so that the possibility of it being poured out on God’s children ceased to exist forever.

We want to imitate the Lord’s character. We want to be longsuffering. Not in the sense of holding back God’s wrath, but in being forbearing – patient and self-controlled. The Bible calls us to suffer long with one another in love (Ephesians 4:1-3). Paul lists patience as a fruit of the Spirit, a mark of one who has been redeemed in Christ (Galatians 5:22-23). So, we are back to this question, how does long-suffering relate to idolatry and contentment?

Idolatry and discontentment are often symptoms of failing to wait on the Lord and trust His goodness and His plan. We effortlessly grow impatient with our circumstances, wondering why God is being slow to answer our prayers or give us the desires of our heart. This impatience reveals simply that we are not pleased with what the Lord has presently given us or where He has set our feet in this time. In this, discontentment so quickly and easily becomes idolatry. Idolatry of our wants, our plans, our ideal circumstances. We seat these things on Christ’s throne in our lives. How different things would be if we daily gazed upon the Lord’s longsuffering with us. How much more thankful we would be. How much more willingly we would wait upon the Lord.

What does longsuffering look like for us in the ordinary circumstances of our lives? It looks like waiting patiently on the Lord. Being still. Remembering that He alone is God. It may look like trusting the Lord to provide what you need in singleness, remaining faithful in a seemingly mundane career, believing He will provide in times of financial stress or strain, or loving someone well through a difficult season. It may even look like patiently enduring your own process of sanctification, allowing the Lord to refine you one day at a time through conviction and submission. Whatever it looks like for each of us, longsuffering requires of us that we lay down the demand for our own satisfaction, trusting the Lord’s plans, purposes, and provisions in our lives.

Idolatry and discontentment are often symptoms of failing to wait on the Lord and trust His goodness and His plan.

Daily ponder the longsuffering of the Lord. Remember His faithfulness to draw you near in times of drifting or rebellion. Give thanks to Him for the turning away of His wrath. Be patient with others, loving them as Christ has loved them, bearing judgment upon himself. Don’t allow your desires to take Christ’s place on the throne of your life.

When we have the right perspective of the Lord’s patience with us, we will be so much more joyful to wait on Him, to trust His ways, and to say always, “whatever my lot, it is well with my soul.”