Romans 5:3, 4

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope ~ Romans 5:3, 4


When life is going along with everything working out the way we expected, with no interpersonal issues, when our family is healthy and loving, we are in our glory, aren’t we? Everything is “peachy-keen”! We wish that life was always like those times! But it is not. Life is full of ups and downs, it is full of both joy and sorrow, of stress and relief, of anger and laughter. The problem with the “everything working out” times is that we do not grow as individuals. In fact, the opposite is true. We become apathetic and stagnant. We may like to stop in those times to rest, but if we remain there, we become planted. My hardest times of life have been the times when my faith grew in my Lord to a greater degree. My hardest times of life were when my understanding of others changed, when my compassion was enlarged. My hardest times of life were when I reached out to God for answers and my hope was sustained in His answers. Our pain works in our spirit to develop us. I just finished a Bible study with my ladies on the book of Ruth, and so I think here of Naomi. You see, she shows one way we can look at our troubles. Naomi changed her name to Mara, which means bitter. Our afflictions can cause that attitude to come upon us and we too become hardened, bitter, angry, and complainers. We blame God! Another character in the Bible was Job. Now Job had many afflictions brought upon him as well. His attitude was not one of blaming God. He questioned God, he prayed to God, but he also realized that God’s hand was upon him for a reason he could not understand. In the end, both were blessed, both learned lessons, that is true. I will never know which person grew in greater faith, but my hunch is that it was Job. You see, our testing not only leads to the improvement of our character, but it also tests our character in its genuineness. That, my friends, is food for thought.

Pastor Julia

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