Fruit of the Spirit: Forbearance

 

 Week 4!!!

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

   FORBEARANCE.

   So first question what even is forbearance? lets look at a different version of Galatians to find out.

 Galatians 5;22-23 (NLT) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

   So forbearance is patience.  Now what does patience mean? Well...the dictionary says, the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. 

   Now this probably wasn't what you were thinking of when you thought of patience.  You might have thought of something from your childhood.  Like, When your Mom or Dad told you to be patient and wait for the food to be done. Or the hardest one of all as kids, being patient for Christmas to open your gifts.

   But I don't think that is what God was thinking when he told Paul to write the Fruit of the Spirit.  What the dictionary said is probably closer then what we normally use the word for.  So what is God telling us to do?

   I think to be slow to anger and to be patient in what God is doing through you, is what God was more so talking about.  How many times do we all react too soon and become angry too fast? When we should keep calm and hear out the person or the situation.

   This happens so many times in our lives.  We judge the situation all to quick and let anger get the best of us.  So lets try to be slow to anger and to be patient in what God wants.  And lets see how that changes us.