Long-suffering
I would like to speak to you today about an attribute of God that we should imitate, as people created in the likeness and image of God. This attribute is long-suffering, patience, and forbearance.
Long-suffering
A patient person:
We are supposed to learn long-suffering, and through it we learn patience. Because the Scripture says: “By your patience possess your souls” (Luke 21:19). It also says: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). And it also says: “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14). And the psalmist says: “My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, yes, more than those who watch for the morning” (Psalm 130:6).
“From the morning watch until night my soul waited for the Lord”.
It means from the very beginning until completion, until all the daylight ends. A person must be long-suffering. And let him see what God did.
God promised man salvation, and fulfilled this salvation after about 5000 years. And it was a lesson for humanity to wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Regarding the dispensation of times:
The person who does not have long-suffering, who does not know how to wait, wants things to be done at the time he desires, not according to the divine wisdom in the dispensation of times.
Tell yourself that God has a wise timing, and that He does a good work at the proper time. He chooses the times and seasons that He sees as very appropriate and very beneficial. And the Scripture says: “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” (Acts 1:7).
So we must train ourselves how to wait for the Lord, and to wait for Him with confidence and with satisfaction, feeling that the time appointed by the Lord is the best.
At one time, God gave Abraham a promise to give him offspring, and He did not give him the son except after 25 years. Perhaps Abraham thought that God had forgotten this promise. But God can never forget; rather, He was choosing the suitable time.
Long-suffering in dealing with sinners
God is long-suffering in His dealings with people, even sinners, like Pharaoh for example.
See how God was patient with him in his hardness and in his humiliation of people… and He was patient with him when he refused Moses. And He was patient with him in the plagues, not in one or two or three, but in ten plagues… in every plague, Pharaoh cries out and says, “I have sinned,” so the Lord is patient with him with amazing long-suffering.
God’s way is that He is very long-suffering, very patient, working in calmness and patience, in great calmness, until matters are resolved…
In the matter of Pharaoh, the Lord said: “For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16), as if He says: I will not drive out these enemies before you, because their cup has not yet been filled… it is possible that a person sins many times, and the Lord is patient, because his cup has not yet been filled…
Do not think that if you sin كثيرا and no punishment comes upon you, that God does not see or notice; no, because your cup has not yet been filled.
The long-suffering of God leads a person to repentance; but if he does not repent, he becomes subject to God’s punishment.
Long-suffering in solving problems:
God is long-suffering in solving problems. He may leave them for a time, not because He does not care, but because He chooses the appropriate time to solve them. An example of that is the story of Joseph the righteous…
His brothers threw him into the well, and the Lord was silent. Then they sold him as a slave, and God seemed not to move. Then he was falsely accused and thrown into prison, and years passed… did God neglect him and leave him? No, but He was choosing the time in which to make him a minister or a prince. And if He had solved the problem from the first day, Joseph would have remained just a simple shepherd…
I remember that once I fell into a problem, so I said to myself: I will leave this problem for three or four years to be solved. And it was solved before that period. The important thing is that a person should not be anxious in solving problems, nor rush their solution before their time, in disturbance.
Give time to the problem. Lengthen your ropes and loosen them to the utmost extent. And do not worry. Say that this problem needs time, so let me be patient…
The matter needs patience: suppose there is a dispute between you and someone, and you went to reconcile with him but he refused. Do you despair of him, or do you wait? Do you wash your hands like Pilate? No, but be long-suffering and do not be upset.
Many people do not endure, but become anxious and annoyed quickly. They have a disease called the fever of haste… he wants to obtain quickly, and to make all heaven work on his account.
Long-suffering in prayer:
You must pray, and not worry about the response. Leave the matter to God. And trust that He will give you what is good for you at the appropriate time, in the appropriate way, according to God’s wisdom and His good dispensation and understanding of times…
There are people who do not have long-suffering in prayer. They do not wait for the Lord. Yet they blame God كثيرًا and accuse Him كثيرًا: “Lord, You are asleep. You are silent.” And the Lord is patient with them and with their reproach.
Harms of lack of long-suffering:
† The person who does not have long-suffering falls into anxiety, annoyance, and disturbance. His النفس becomes tired, and he loses his inner peace… he worries quickly, like a person who looks at the clock every minute… speed is not always beneficial.
† Sometimes the person who does not have long-suffering falls into despair quickly. How quickly he says: there is no benefit.
† The person who does not have long-suffering often falls into reliance on the human arm and human wisdom, and not waiting for the Lord… we will give an example: Abraham, and also Rebekah.
Abraham was given a promise by God to give him offspring like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. And the response was delayed. And Abraham could not wait, so he resorted to human ways. He took Hagar, and he took Keturah, and he had offspring from them, but not according to the will of God who said to him: “In Isaac your seed shall be called” (Genesis 21:12).
Another example is Rebekah: the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). It was in God’s will to give the blessing to Jacob the younger. But Rebekah could not endure when she heard Isaac speaking to Esau. So she resorted to human ways, by which she obtained what she wanted, but she caused Jacob troubles that distressed him all his life…
Human ways may bring a quick result, but they are not according to the will of God, which may be delayed, but in wisdom and blessing and benefit.
God’s way is calm, proceeding step by step, until it reaches…
There are people who do not have long-suffering even in speaking with others. They interrupt others and cannot wait until their speaker finishes his words.
Long-suffering in service and upbringing:
Long-suffering is necessary in upbringing and service, in reforming people and winning them to the Lord.
Perhaps a servant receives a class, and when he does not see his students improving quickly, he despairs. Either he accuses himself of being unfit for service, or he accuses those served of being useless.
No, my beloved. There is no fault in you nor in them, but the nature of service requires long-suffering. Wait for them. Do not think that a person’s nature that has continued with him for years must change suddenly by a word or advice…
And how many examples:
parents in raising their children, or spouses in bearing with one another… the matter requires long-suffering…
A hen needs a period in which it incubates the eggs until they mature and its chicks come out. And seeds must spend a period in the ground until they become green, grow, become trees, and bear fruit… and all this requires long-suffering that may last long…
† Sometimes lack of long-suffering is due to weakness in the nerves… but those with strong nerves can endure and be patient.
Impulsiveness and haste:
† The person who does not have long-suffering becomes afflicted with impulsiveness and haste.
And impulsiveness and haste always have very bad results…
Sometimes the one who does not have patience makes impulsive decisions or positions that have a childish character. For example, a person who fails an exam takes a decision not to enter the church as a protest against God!!!
This haste indicates that a person is light, not firm or stable.
A person must give matters their time, and give himself calmness.
God trains His children in long-suffering:
God agreed with Elijah the prophet to send rain after three and a half years. And Elijah went and prayed once and twice and three times… until the sixth prayer, and the rain did not fall. And in the seventh prayer he saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand, so he knew that his prayer had been answered.
Why did the rain not fall from the first prayer according to the Lord’s promise? The Lord was undoubtedly training Elijah in long-suffering.
And on one occasion, James and John went with the Lord to Samaria. The city closed its doors in their faces. So the two disciples said to the Lord: “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” (Luke 9:54), but the Lord rebuked them. And He extended His patience until Samaria was saved.
Sometimes the Lord delays, in order to teach us patience. He does not come except in the last watch of the night, and He does not visit the laborers except in the eleventh hour of the day.
All this is so that we learn to wait for the Lord, and to be trained in long-suffering, this attribute which is one of the attributes of God…
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