Long-suffering

An almost archaic word that sounds like a term from the outdated wordage of Shakespeare is “long-suffering.” It means, of course, “putting up with a difficulty for an extended period.” It’s not quite the same as patience, which is basically “undisturbed waiting.” Long-suffering implies a bit more, namely, the lengthy sustaining of suffering or adversity.

As with all his prerogatives, God is the unchallenged champion of long-suffering--continuing in his merciful and tender love, even in the face of our sacrilegious abuse of that love. “The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting” (Ps 103:17, emphasis mine). How much “longer” can anyone’s “long”-suffering be, than “from everlasting (past) to everlasting (future)”?

Before we strive to imitate--and trust in--this celestial Master of long-suffering, let’s take a moment to observe his expertise and his proficiency in this matter. Consider prayerfully these few passages from Scripture, excerpted from the many that refer to this admirable characteristic of God:

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not keep always accusing, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. . . . For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. Psalm 103:8-11, emphasis mine.

For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. Acts 13:18, emphasis mine.

Being compassionate, he forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath. Psalm 78:38, emphasis mine.

You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and you did not forsake them. Nehemiah 9:17, emphasis mine.

The Lord is . . . patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 

The heavenly Father, through Jesus, offers to extrapolate to us his own gracious long-suffering Spirit. This can be accomplished in two ways: toward us and in us. First, he extends long-suffering toward us as he mercifully puts up with our repeated sins and failures. Then, he extends it in us by giving us a share in that marvelous divine ability to sustain our afflictions.  

These afflictions that we must endure--seemingly forever--include not only such things as months of intractable pain, unremitting depression, or hopeless unemployment. The hardships that most frequently assail us come from our fellow humans, with their unchanging foibles and endlessly irksome behavior. Even a miniscule share in the forbearance of our unwearied God will enable us to put up with one another with miraculous endurance.

This forbearance and long-suffering enables us to cope with equanimity in our dealings with inconsiderate husbands, nagging wives, obstreperous children, bad-tempered bosses, quarrelsome fellow employees, haughty pastors, and the like. Did you ever pray in similar situations for long-suffering after the model of Jesus? Note the appeal of Paul for this seldom-sought aim: “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus” (Rom 15:5, emphasis mine). Only a steadfast God can make us steadfast in our daily needle-prick tribulations.

It’s not hard to see the need for a heroic level of trust in the Almighty to sustain us in our long-suffering. That’s his work in us. Yet his long-suffering toward us is where even more trust is demanded, for this means trusting in his unflagging mercy to continue remitting our repeated sins and failures. After all, it is our very sinfulness that frustrates his work in us, which would provide us with long-suffering in our inter-personal problems. Ask for the twofold grace to appreciate his long-suffering mercy toward us and to sustain us in our long-suffering caused by others. Interestingly, that petition for double trust is epitomized in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us as we forgive . . .”

This excerpt is from the book Pathways of Trust, by John H. Hampsch,C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.