05-01-12 "Hopeful Perseverance" Romans 5:1-5

The passage I read was Romans 5:1-5

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A1-5&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance;⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hopedoes not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

As I reflect:

It’s too short a passage to just pick one verse that stands out, so I chose the whole thing as having stood out. Lol.  I actually quoted a portion of this passage yesterday not knowing it was on the agenda for study today.  We often discuss, study, and meditate on pushing through difficulties in our lives as followers of Christ.  Often the focus is on just persevering and how to do so by the Holy Spirit, but this passage is special to me because I am a “why” person.  When someone at work tells me to do something, often before I even consider beginning, I will ask “why”.  When one of my children has disobeyed me, it is often more important to me to know “why” rather than just jumping right into punishment.  When a stranger raises their voice at me and calls me all sorts of evil because of their cable not working, my first thought is “why is their cable this important”.  I am a why person.  I ask it about price increases globally, the introduction of sin in the garden, and when something breaks down.  This passage gives us insight as to “why” we suffer.

As Christians we can simply take it on the Word of God to rejoice when we suffer.  But from time to time, we may be tempted to ask God “why”.  Here, He has graciously offered us an answer in advance.  He doesn’t expect us to simply rejoice because someone says that the Bible tells us to.  He gives us the answer to the “why”.  We are not suffering in vain.  But we suffer because it produces perseverance.  We persevere because it produces character.  We have character built up in us so that we might understand and obtain hope.  And we have this hope of the work of the Lord in our life; the hope of His return; the hope of one day going to our eternal home with our Savior and it expresses to us His great love being poured into our lives through His Holy Spirit.  We don’t suffer in vain.  Nor do we persevere without end.  There will come a day when our suffering will cease and we will be with our Lord.  When you suffer and begin to wonder why you feel this way, know that the Lord is at work and is actually building and lifting you up that you may have hope and character.  You are being strengthened by the suffering you now endure.  It is with great purpose that we have trials and tribulations of all kinds.  I can rejoice in this knowing and trusting that it is part of God’s design to complete the work begun in me.  Rejoice with me as He also works in you.