Makrothumia (mak-roth-oo-mee’-ah)

What a word! This is the Greek word for long-suffering.  Like most, when we hear this word, we think of patience. But in regards to this fruit it is specifically about the patience we have with others, how we treat people.  This fruit is inspired by mercy and mercy is fueled by forgiveness. In the reference section of my bible it describes long-suffering as having patience with others like God has with us. I don’t know about you but I do not have that much patience!

Yes, long-suffering is the fruit I am studying this week.  There is patience with our circumstances (sickness, money, crisis)  and then there is patience with people and when it comes to people I am sure you can completely understand just why this particular type of patience is called long-suffering and why it is one of the fruit of the Spirit.  This patience requires a LOT of forgiving.  There are people who come to mind as I go through this, but you know what else comes to mind how much I must come to God’s mind because He has certainly shown me mercy and forgiveness time, and time, and time again.

I have been blessed in my life with the right people at the right time. People that God has placed into my life to sharpen me and to be honest I may not have thought so at the time when wounds were fresh, but I have learned that God has a purpose for everything we face in life, the good, the bad and the ugly. I have also learned that I have to be willing to let go of the personal pain in order to allow the Spirit to grow me spiritually. We are called to relationships and sometimes we might rub each other the wrong way but eventually, if we allow the Spirit to guide us, things will be smoothed out, either the situation or our attitude regarding the situation.

We need each other and because we need each other we need the fruit of long-suffering. It's easy to walk away and give up on a friendship when things get rough but conflict plus commitment prompts change. That may mean that God is working life in one person and death in another in certain areas. I know there are people who drive us absolutely crazy Beth Moore says, sometimes they bring out the worst in us, sometimes they keep us from thinking to highly of ourselves and sometimes they bring out our pretenses, and the truth is we need these people in our lives to help bring about necessary change within ourselves.  I wonder what our relationships would look like if we started asking right up front, what is it that God is wanting to teach me through this relationship. We tend to treat our assets with high regard, but rarely stop to realize that the people God places in our lives are the most valuable assets to helping us become the person God is trying to guide us to be, vessels of grace and mercy.