Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  Romans 5:1-5 HCSB

Wow! Think about what these first two verses say.   Through our faith in God, we have been justified.  Our pastor defines justified this way-just as if I’d never sinned.  So our sins are washed away and we have access to this awesome grace in which we stand.  We are in a win/win situation! Our God is faithful to forgive us and He is faithful to bring us through any trial and tribulation we may face.  We can not only boast about this awesome forgiveness, grace, glory and hope that we have in Christ, but we can boast and be glad while we suffer.  What?  Yes, I said we can be glad and at peace while we suffer.

We are told in Ephesians six, that we fight not against flesh and blood but the evil forces.  These people coming against you, well literally the devil is making them do it. The devil gets control of these people and they want to make you suffer.  Now when these trials come along, as with everything, you have a what?  Yes, a choice.  We always have a choice.  You can withdraw and curl up in a ball and think “woe is me, the sky is falling”, you can join them and plot evil against them, or you can stand tall and say “God’s got this” and keep on keeping on.  Now don’t get me wrong, I know that there are some problems so big that they totally overwhelm us and sometimes things happen that we “blame” God for like the unexpected loss of a loved one.  But trust me, God has a reason for every single thing that happens and if God takes someone from you, He will take care of you through this time of loss. He will comfort you while you mourn. So, even if you can’t explain why something has happened, you can rest assured that God will get you through this.

Now if you choose to curl up in a ball and decide that the sky is falling or to let the devil talk you into seeking vengeance, that’s not good for you. It indicates a lack of faith and without faith you can have no hope. So you see where this is going, right?  But should you choose to persevere and keep your head up and keep your eyes upward and focused on God, then this brings about perseverance or as some versions say, endurance.  Now endurance is something we all need in these trying times.  You see if you have never run more than a mile and you jump up one morning and say, “I think I’ll go out and run a marathon today,” you probably won’t be able to do that.  Runners train for quite some time to be able to run a marathon or 26.2 miles.  We start out as baby Christians but our trials and tribulations, if handled according to God’s word, brings us into maturity.  So as we endure these trials and tribulations, our endurance increases just as the runner gradually increases his mileage until he reaches that 26.2 mark.  Now runners who are in good shape, can actually run that far and not pass out. You can actually feel good when you complete that goal. For us Christians, learning to navigate and stay strong during difficult times brings about peace and endurance.  Yes, you can actually be at peace when you are suffering. Sounds crazy, I know, but it can happen.

Our scripture passage tells us that this perseverance or endurance brings character.  Your character is very important.  It’s your reputation, it’s how other people see you. They can see you as some type of scoundrel whose word cannot be trusted.  They can see you as some type of snake that lashes out at everyone around when things don’t go his way or they can see you as strong and steady.  You can present a good strong character or a weak character.

Now this good character produces hope.  You see if you are strong enough to endure the troubles that come your way, without running around screaming about how the sky is falling, then you exhibit a good solid character, and this character produces hope.  Your hope is in the Lord.  You trust Him to handle whatever problems come your way, so why should you worry?  Luke 12:25-26 tells us, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?  Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”

When we have hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have no shame.  So don’t worry be hopeful!

Have a great day!