Devotional—The Struggle of Sanctification—Sonya Johnson
Longsuffering Never Ends
Dictionary definition: Longsuffering is “having or showing patience despite troubles, especially those caused by other people.”
Spiritual Definition: The word longsuffering in its scriptural context implies a patient forbearance of repetitious wrongs, accusations, offenses, or troubles. In simple terms, longsuffering implies patient endurance. Philadelphia Church of God
There is a vast difference in the spiritual definition of longsuffering as opposed to the worldview of longsuffering. Showing patience can be accomplished through pretense or as a performance. We can pretend that everything is alright by exercising restraint, showing fake smiles, and saying, I’m okay, yet deep inside we are annoyed or angry.
The practice of only showing outward signs that “all is well” has its repercussions. Eventually, our internal level of frustration [from others’ intentional actions toward us] will reach its limits. Often something insignificant may trigger an unexpected emotional meltdown [such as explosive anger] because we really do not possess longsuffering as a character trait.
Have you experienced a deep spiritual awareness of the requirements of the Fruit of the Spirit? The Fruit are character traits that all believers must possess. For every situation that arises, God expects us to respond appropriately because our character is in alignment with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Would you agree that longsuffering [patience] is one of the most difficult?
“Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.” (2 Corinthians 11:25). Read 2 Corinthians 11:22-33, Acts 14:19, and Acts 16:22.
The Apostle Paul shares his experience, yet, he demonstrated longsuffering and did not retaliate or harbor unforgiveness for their heinous actions against him. The challenge is for us to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give us a total spiritual makeover of our characters and hearts.
Seeking transformation requires perseverance. Daily, we must pray for the inward anointing of the Holy Spirit. The testing of our character to produce longsuffering comes in various ways. Stop, think, and pray before speaking the wrong words. The very situation that is raising our level of frustration is the test that we will pass when we pray for Divine Intervention.
Prayer: God, we pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit so that we may experience the needed change in our characters. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions 