Persevering in Patience

“The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”-Psalm 33:11

Have you ever asked yourself: am I struggling in any fruits given by the Spirit? Not spiritual gifts, for those are completely different (only similar because they involve a gifting from the Spirit), but the FRUIT of the Spirit (long-suffering, peace, joy, self-control, love, forbearance, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and kindness), the qualities we want in ourselves as we pursue our personal relationship with Him. We’ve been in Albania now for a bit over two weeks (yes, I owe you two blog posts but I’ll do you one better: I’m going to do three total in the first two weeks), and the Lord has been molding and shaping me constantly in order to help me heal from past struggles that aren’t fully gone yet even though it’s been years. Long-suffering is the first fruit that He really wanted to show me, to get me to study it deeper and really see what it means to have the fruit of long-suffering. So with that, let’s begin!

First of all, long-suffering is not passive; instead, it is an active response to opposition. You are willingly choosing to suffer instead of allowing someone else to suffer because of possible, hurtful words you may want to say at the time because they’ve hurt you in some way. This is also important because emotions are powerful; they are what makes us different than men in regards to our personalities (to the men, this is not a bad thing; our personalities were given by God, and we are meant to complement each other in this way). As a woman, we often react out of emotions first; men are more likely to act our physically because they are natural protectors and therefore, act defensively before thinking more often than not.

“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.”-1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

You are getting under/in front of a burden or affliction and making it become glorifying to God. Patience is similar (if not close to the same thing as) long-suffering, and therefore, you should always strive to be patient, especially when facing any trials. What does long-suffering mean? Short answer: to put fury far-off while enduring wrong or injustice in some way. Jesus is the only true long-suffering pro, BUT through His Spirit, we can begin to be more like Him in this way. When you succeed, no circumstances will be able to destroy your patience and you won’t be able to be defeated in patience because of other people.

Because of the Lord’s history in goodness, we can be assured that He will carry us through our trials and deliver us in His timing without fail. He is always here for OUR good; He is the ultimate character, the only one you need in any and all absolution throughout your life. I have received a new love, a redemptive, powerful, peaceful, all-consuming love and now I will experience true status as His daughter (chosen and accepted), with a soul that has been newly purified, redeemed and overwhelmed by His presence and a peace that will surpass any and all understanding, given more and more on a daily basis. Suffering will NOT have the final word! All this suffering will keep turning into joy; the watered pain will turn into new wine! The promise of life, of love and light will break through the pain (regardless of the severity level) in my faith and obedience!

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”-Isaiah 43:18-19

I was baptized again, in the Adriatic Sea of all places! Re-baptism is often looked down upon, but I see it as a personal renewal of sorts. Obviously if you were doing it every day, or using it to promote yourself…that’s where it would become bad. BUT, if you are doing it for the right reasons, if you truly feel you need to renew your vows to God in a sense, and you’re doing it only to glorify God and have gone to Him in true repentance, knowing that you are guilty and don’t deserve to be forgiven (though He does any how); that is when I believe that getting baptized again is okay. I felt that in order to truly receive this renewed vision of this specific fruit, I needed to wash away all of my impatience, in a sort of surrendering all of my impatience to God, all of my trust, and fully accepting that He does indeed love me unconditionally, and my squad loves me unconditionally! What a beautiful fruit to have!

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.”-Isaiah 43:25-26

The Bible does not give easy reasoning when it comes to asking about why patience/long-suffering is so important. However, we will eventually know why we suffered that much, what we are meant to learn from it and how it grew us more-so in our faith. Suffering can come from within your own mind, due to other peoples’ actions, or even hardships/circumstances that are causing different afflictions and challenges you’ve had little practice facing; sometimes, it could even be a challenge similar to one (or more) of your past challenges, meant to either teach you something new or something you were meant to learn, but it didn’t come to you at the time you thought you needed it. The Bible talks specifically about women who have faced long-suffering when it comes to the emptiness of barrenness (Sarah), frustration of relationships (many), the uncertainty of circumstances (Mary/Jesus’ mom and Esther) and the dilemma of helplessness (woman at the well; maybe even Ruth a little bit).

Patience produces perseverance; the more you persevere when the world is telling you “No”, or that you “could never overcome something”, the more you will grow because you come back at it saying, “Oh, you don’t think I can do it? Watch me.” The song “Say I Won’t” by Mercy Me came to mind as I typed the previous statement. Tell the enemy that he has no power over you, that his loss happened a long time ago BUT, if he really wants to test OUR GOD….he’s in for a good, old-fashioned smack-down. Apparently, Satan has a real hard time taking a hint, but, just keeps doing it; we know who wins in the end after all!

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.”-1 Peter 4:12-13