God is longsuffering (patient) with us.

Application #1: Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit; thus, it is a reflection of God’s character.

Because patience is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, you can be sure that it demonstrates the character of God. And God cannot be other than what His character dictates He is. So, take heart in this!

Application #2: God desires that we help the weak, thus we can assume that the heart of God desires to help the weak.

Don’t you think that if God told the Thessalonians to help the weak and be patient with everyone, that He was asking them to do something that is consistent with His character? It is!

Application #3: Sometimes, God’s desire for our hardships and our weaknesses is so that He can demonstrate His perfect character in the form of patience toward us.

It glorifies God, Himself, to be patient with us. (1 Timothy 1:16-see below) The NASB calls it “patience” while the NKJV calls it “longsuffering.” It doesn’t matter what the word is, God still desires to be patient and longsuffering with us.

Verses To Meditate On

1 Timothy 1:16 (NASB): “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NASB): “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
Romans 2:4 (NASB): “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV): “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering [patient] toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Also See: Galatians 5:22-23 and Ezekiel 34:15-22.

Because patience is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, you can be sure that it demonstrates the character of God. And God cannot be other than what His character dictates He is. So take heart!