Senior Pastor’s Devotional
11 July 2020 | Recovery Movement Control Order – “Strategic Psalm 91 Watch”

“Long Suffering vs Suffering Long.”

We live in a broken, imperfect and sin affected world. As a result, we have to live with imperfections, such as racism; corruption; pandemic like the Covid 19 and as such we have to learn to manage our life so that we will not be overwhelmed by these.

Even in the Bible, there are some things we may not fully understand, like for example Lazarus and Dorcas were raised from the dead, while John the Baptist was martyred and was not raised.

For these issues we need the fruit of longsuffering, which can help us to grow in faith, patience, and the deeper knowledge of God.

However, there are other problems in life that can be resolved. For example, some people are ill because they are harboring a long-standing grudge and refuse to forgive the one/s who hurt them. This instance is suffering long. In these there is no benefit to be gained whatsoever—only bitterness, unhappiness, and illness. If only that we will learn to let go of the past – then you do not have to ‘suffer long’. The prime reason why some people cannot let go is because they are dependent upon their own strength and their own reasoning.

This is why the Serenity Prayer, though simple, is so profound. It goes this way: “God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

May we bear the fruit of His Spirit as written here in Galatians 5:22-23 and as a result will we will live with victory and peace.

Pr Lawrence Yap.