He suffered long.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Six grueling hours. That’s how long Jesus suffered on the cross as the sin of humanity was placed upon Him. He suffered long, making sure the price would be paid once and for all. He suffered long because six minutes just wouldn’t do. He had to go the extra mile for us and stay up there on that cross until it was finished. This is the picture I want us to keep in mind when God tells us to be long suffering.

What does it mean to be longsuffering? It means you put up with a lot no matter how hard it gets. It means one offense doesn’t send you packing your bags, calling it quits. It means you love someone, going the extra mile even when they don’t deserve it because you understand some behaviors are deeply-rooted in past traumas that had nothing to do with you.

Jesus suffered long for you and you will suffer long for Him. You will forgive and treat those who wrong you like they’ve never done you wrong. You are maturing in this fruit of the Spirit, and the same Holy Spirit that helped Jesus, is helping you. You will experience what it feels like to be crushed, but you will stay bearing your cross and following Jesus. You’re not giving up after six minutes, after one offense or after one unpleasant experience. God is producing His longsuffering characteristic in our lives in this hour. He is helping us accept the challenge to imitate Him. We will imitate not only how He reigns but how He suffers.

Prayer: Father God, I hear you. Thank you for being longsuffering toward me. You have loved me deeply and you are teaching me to love the same way. You suffered long for me, and I choose to do the same for you. No matter what, I accept the challenge of your Holy Spirit to love by being longsuffering. In Jesus’ name, Amen.