| Romans 3-5 "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does 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." Joy is the symbol for Christians. We are not only joyful when everything goes on well, but we also glory in our sufferings. Why? Paul gave us three reasons: Firstly, because suffering produces perseverance. It is not like we cannot tolerate any more. We persevere with hope, because we know God's hand is moving. Once there was a young preacher who ran into great difficulties in his ministry, so he went to visit a spiritual elder and asked for his intercession so that God might bless him with more perseverance. That spiritual elder started to pray for him: "Lord, may you give him more suffering!" That young preacher interrupted upon hearing that: "Not for more suffering, but for more perseverance!" That elder said calmly: "What I prayed for is not wrong, for the Lord says that suffering produces perseverance." When we realized suffering is only the process through which God mold us, we will be able to persevere. Secondly, because perseverance produces character. Character is not the same as being cynical. In English the word is character for spiritual character. During perseverance, our character and spirituality will be refined by God until our life is more mature like Jesus Christ. Similarly, a soldier must go through harsh training. West Point in the USA is well known for its training for freshmen. A freshman can only answer "Yes, Sir!" or "No, Sir!" in their response to others, or he will get penalized right away and he cannot argue. As strict as the training is, why are there still many people waiting in line to get in during the annual recruitment? That is because people can see the final product after four years of training and how proud the graduates feel. Likewise, as painful as the suffering during perseverance is, it can bring about the refinement on one's spiritual character, so that we can be in the glorious image of Jesus. Thirdly, character produces hope that doesn't put us to shame. Praise the Lord! Due to his work on us, we can understand that we are never forsaken. God loves us. The Holy Spirit also pour down the love of Christ into our heart so that we will never feel lonely and scared. By his timing, on the day that the Lord makes, his will then will be done on us. Then we will triumph over the circumstances and the enemies. Brothers and sisters, are you in the middle of suffering? Don't be discouraged or intimidated. You need to know that the work of the Lord is yet to be fulfilled on you. You are still in God's plan. When the day that God makes comes, you and I will surely shout in joy. 
Pray with Pastor Tong Liu Lord, please bless us with the spirit of hope in our heart. Whenever we are in a hopeless situation, we can still be hopeful because of you, for you are not only our savior, but also the builder of our characters till the end. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! |
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