Forbearance in the Bible: A Big Word for Restraint
Forbearance in the Bible in Galatians 5:22-23 is listed as one of the nine fruit of The Spirit. You may not think you cultivate forbearance but you probably do.
Parents practice forbearance when they instruct children to complete tasks they choose to ignore. They extend leniency knowing a child’s brain runs on overload. You don’t let them get by with disobedience but you aren’t as harsh with punishment. In a nutshell, that’s forbearance.
As the world gets nastier (it is), God could shut down this chaotic world in a split second. His love for people prevents Him from doing so. One day, choosing Jesus as Lord and Savior won’t be an option. His forbearance gives people more time to make a decision for Christ.
In this short forbearance Bible study, think about what it is and whether it’s possible to grow forbearance into big chunks of fruit.
What Does Forbearance Mean in the Bible?
God forbears inadequacies and the blatant disobedience of the Israelites. They moan, groan, complain, and continue to sin through their thoughts and deeds. He offers mercy and stays silent in the face of refusals to submit to Him. He endures their misgivings before exacting punishment.
Even God has a tolerance limit. He nearly zaps them into non-existence but Moses steps in on their behalf to change God’s mind. Here are examples of forbearance in the Bible.
Exodus 32:9-14 – I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?
Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
God was fed up with their shenanigans. Still, the Israelites didn’t change their stiff-necked ways. God forbears their behavior but in time He punishes them for their disobedience.
Number 32:11-12 – Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.
Forbearance in the Bible Is About Endurance
Our relationship with God involves giving and taking as do our human relationships. For example, a husband and wife forgive and forbear one another’s faults and idiosyncrasies. Most any day, a wife may want to run her husband’s socks up a flagpole. Her husband blocks out his wife’s conversations when she needs him to listen.
In this example, I assume the husband and wife honor God before man. Cultivating fruit is high on their to-do lists. If either person gravitates away from God, they downplay the importance of forgiveness—endurance—and forbearance. They may see their differences line up with concepts outlined in John Gray’s book, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.” God wants them to see their distinctive natures as purposeful designs.
Endurance for the sake of forbearance doesn’t mean you never confront someone when behavior warrants correction. Just like God, you know when it’s necessary to make or suggest changes.
Forbearance in the Bible Is About Other Fruit
God designed the fruit of The Spirit to work together in perfection. While forbearance grows, patience controls emotions like anger and disgust. Suggestion: it’s not a good idea to consider zapping people as God did. You restrain your actions when love, joy, and peace work in unison.
Mercy kicks in when you see people overwhelmed with life or you wait to see how God answers your prayers for them. You’re kind by overlooking a suffered wrong and longsuffering because you know God helps people repent from sin.
Forbearance is part of your character when retaliation isn’t an option. That’s especially true when loved ones abuse the goodness you extend to them repeatedly. You don’t lash out. You’re composed and respond mildly when faced with injustices.
Others see you as annoyingly tranquil when they react to another’s behavior like their hair is on fire. Your self-restraint makes others wonder what makes you tick. How can you be peaceful and calm by letting others off the hook?
An example of forbearance in the Bible is in Hebrews 11 which lists Abraham and Sarah as heroes of faith but their faith wasn’t always intact. As they wait for their promised child, Sarah gives her handmaid Hagar to Abraham (as a present?) to produce a child. That wasn’t exactly brilliant and their actions didn’t exemplify faithfulness. God forbears their ignorance and folly to give them time to grow spiritually. Maybe others can’t see forbearance in you but that doesn’t mean God isn’t growing fruit behind the scenes. More than likely, you’ll be a faith hero too, in due time.
So What Is Forbearance?
Have you noticed that people complete deeds in a spirit of haughtiness and total disregard for God? They’re arrogant, proud, wicked, and malicious. People are aggressively sinful. Their behavior reminds me of how Paul acted before his conversion on the road to Damascus.
I Timothy 1:13-16 – Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.
Paul saw himself as the “chiefest of sinners.” If God can forbear Paul’s persecution against Christ, He can extend the same mercy to anyone walking a similar path. That’s one of the blessings of forbearance in full bloom.