Read: Romans 5:1-11
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings. (v. 3)
I lost my father last year after he suffered a stroke and a subsequent brain bleed. While sitting beside him in the hospital, I longed for hope. I was bitter that God was taking him from me. Now, when I look back on those weeks of my life, I see the ways God was present, and I found peace and joy in my suffering.
Suffering, Paul tells us, gifts endurance, character, and hope, and hope starts with God. When we have peace with God, we can rejoice in suffering. He is with us, in ways we often see as we suffer, but even more so when we look back. Suffering, borne in faith and trust in God, produces the endurance needed to wait patiently hopeful. As we endure trials, the genuineness of our faith—our character—reveals itself. Suffering endured with trust in God leads us to a much deeper faith in him, a genuine faith others can clearly see.
When I think of someone who is no longer bitter, hope is the difference. They trust in God, know he loves them, and sit with him in suffering. No matter what they face in their life, they have hope, and a person who is hopeful can’t hold on to bitterness. And a person whose hope is the result of suffering, endurance, and character? That person has a hope so strong nothing in this world will take it away. They believe and trust God will make everything right in the end. And he does.
As you pray, ask God to sustain your hope in tough times.
Ariana D. Den Bleyker is a Pittsburgh native currently residing in New York’s Hudson Valley. She is the author of two devotional poetry collections,To Be Held by the Lightand Waking in the Light. She is an ordained deacon in the Reformed Church of America.
