Word Study Wednesday

There is a quality of character that I have been meaning to develop and that is the quality of:

longsuffering

An old fashioned word to be sure.  See the usage in these verses below:

[Exo 34:6 KJV] 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,[H750] and abundant in goodness and truth,

[Num 14:18 KJV] 18 The LORD [is] longsuffering,[H750] and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation].

[Neh 9:17 KJV] 17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou [art] a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow[H750] to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

In the 1st verse look at the adjectives surrounding the word "longsuffering."  Merciful, gracious and abundant in goodness and truth.

In the 2nd verse the word "longsuffering" is followed by forgiving but not forgetting, or in other words, holding His people responsible for their actions of iniquity.

In the 3rd verse, the word is used as "slow to anger" which is preceded by gracious and merciful and followed by kindness and forsookest them not (which I define as did not abandon them even though they were being buttheads :-) 

Strongs assigns the Hebrew word אָרֵךְ ʼârêk, aw-rake'; from H748; long:—long(-suffering, -winged), patient, slow (to anger).

Webster's 1828 dictionary defines longsuffering as follows:   Bearing injuries or provocation for a long time; patient; not easily provoked.

Confession time:  I stink at longsuffering!  But since God has this quality and I am supposed to conform to the image of God, it is a quality I need to work on now!!!!

Do any of you who possess this quality, have any advice for me?