Session 2 - Lesson, Long-suffering

How about our other word study for today. Long-suffering: patiently enduring lasting offence or hardship. Obviously since this hyphenated word has the word “long” in it, it implies that this is a long-term, ongoing situation. And what about that word “hardship”? Just reading that word makes my stomach ache.

There are days when we need patience and then there are whole seasons where we suffer with a difficult situation. How can we live through these times and still have joy? Is it even possible? Can we do what is right? What about that bitter feeling we get when all the odds seem against us? It’s easy to slip during a long period of hardship and fall seriously into a pity pool of depression.

Sarah had troubles with this very thing. Also from the “Ten Extraordinary Women” book, it’s made obvious that the first thing mentioned about Sarah in the Bible was that she was barren, that she had no child (Gen 11:29-30). Wouldn’t that be the worst thing to be introduced with? ‘Hi, this is my neighbor, Sarah, she’s sterile.’

Ok, so Sarah had some long-suffering. Did she handle it well? Hmmm . . Not so much. Here’s the short version of what we know about Sarah. She was 65 in the early days of travel with Abraham to the land God promised him in his blessing. God promised Abraham three different times of land, seed and a blessing if Abraham made Yahweh his God. While living in Canaan, Sarah is 75 and makes the mistake that she needed to help God fulfill his promise of “seed” by giving her maid servant, Hagar, to Abraham to start off the promised nation and that’s when Ishmael was conceived and born. Several years later, after she was tired of Hagar showing off her son and kicked her out of the family, she still is barren.

Finally, when she is 90 years old (Gen 17:17-19) she gets pregnant. What’s up with that? Quite the miracle, if you ask me. Now, let’s get this straight. What woman in her 90’s is able to get pregnant? I mean, get for real. Certainly she’s gone through menopause by this time. (this is actually something I’m still waiting for, even though my own sister only 11 months older than me was done with hers 2 years ago, and of course that meant that as soon as she was done I should be, so I marked my calendar for 11 months later because for certain that was when I would be done too, but of course it didn’t work out that way, and I was rather depressed, I did call her up though and tell her she jinxed me, Ok . . . well perhaps I need to consider patience myself on this particular topic).

Anyway, after many years of suffering humiliation, being lonely, trying to force it to happen, repeatedly listening to God’s unfulfilled promised for years, being ridiculed by your maid and so on and so on. Yet, Paul (we believe it was Paul) reports in Hebrews the traditional understanding that Israel had of Sarah in this letter to Jews. Hebrews 11:11 it says “Sarah judged Him faithful who had promised”.

This tells the final conclusion of Sarah. After a life-time of struggle and long-suffering, she was remembered for trusting God to fulfill his promise.

Let’s draw some comparisons. The character of a patient woman who handles long-suffering with grace has trust, faith, God-focused, devotion, humility, hope, is forgiving, and willing to give up control. In contrast, a woman can be destroyed by the same conditions that produce patience but instead is fearful, insecure, untrusting, internally focused, prideful, easily discouraged, prone to bitterness, and controlling.

Sarah obtained stamina and peace through her suffering, constantly placing her faith in God’s promise. Ah Ha ! ! ! There is the secret. Knowing and placing your faith in God’s promise. That is the hope that produces graceful endurance.

Here is the patience and long-suffering presentation if you would like to use it.