Have you ever thought during some type of trial either physical or spiritual, "Lord, how much longer are you going to make me go through this? I'm tired and I can't handle it anymore?" It can be through health, provocation, people trying to cause you problems, or you fill in the blank. I think one thing that the Lord is definitely trying to teach us through these different trials is patience and to learn to trust Him that He knows what He is doing and is in control. A Fruit of the Spirit that describes this is long suffering. Long suffering is having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people or things that we necessarily can't control. Some synonyms are patience, forbearing, forgiving, tolerance, and uncomplaining.
I know the trials we go through may seem unbearably long, but God does have a purpose and plan for us. The first step in doing this is total surrender to Him. At first I was a little confused at the statement "total surrender" what does it mean? I looked it up and it means this: I will let God do in me whatever is necessary to get Himself glory, and whatever is necessary to make me into the person He is after. Though we may not understand what God is doing, He does, and whatever He does is always perfect and exactly what He wants. Knowing this, we just simply need to trust Him.
The Lord is the perfect example of how to show long suffering. The many times that He reached out to us in salvation, when all we did was reject Him. After His first offer, He could have left us, but He didn't. Now that we may be saved He shows it in how He constantly will forgive us of our sins that we commit against Him. We must NOT take this for granted, but thank Him for His longsuffering and never ending love towards us.
I heard a Pastor mention this a long time ago and and it really stuck with me....
To have FAITH is a choice of the will and toTrust is a surrender of the heart!
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