Walking with men and women of deep faith through debilitating disease of their own or a dear family member, I have witnessed the rejoicing in suffering that breeds endurance and character. In the ICU waiting room with the family whose 30-year-old son was slowly slipping through their fingers and entering eternal rest, I watched as they ministered to other families in the waiting room. One of those other families asked the father, how is it that as your son is dying, you are singing, sharing, and talking to us? The father looked at the family and said, \u201cMy son is a Christian and we know there is hope in resurrection. We are people of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The growth experienced in our suffering changes our worldview from focusing on the problem to giving the problem over to God who can heal and give comfort. As our character becomes more like Jesus, we become more grounded in the bigger picture of God at work in all circumstances. We no longer must worry about the future. Whether we come through this time of suffering or find ourselves emblazoned in a battle the world thinks we are losing, we have hope of a brighter future because God is with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul, as he continues to make this beautiful progression in Romans 5, writes, \u201cand character produces hope<\/em>.\u201d We are changed from people of despair and defeat to being people of hope and victory. We experience the normal human emotions incorporated with the struggle, yet we do not allow those emotions to have the last word. Paul toward the end of Romans proclaims, \u201cMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit<\/em>\u201d (Romans 15:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a great gift to be in relationship with God in such a way that we grow well in our suffering and problems. There are those who \u201cwhen the going gets tough\u201d they falter and are overwhelmed. We can have confidence of God\u2019s presence and find hope that no matter the outcome, we are victorious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you experience hope in your daily walk with Jesus? How do you experience hope even when there are struggles and problems? Thanks be to God that we do not fight alone and in Him we are victorious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me hope for each day of my life. Thank you that as I grow in my relationship with you, I become a person who has hope and conveys hope to those around me. In Jesus\u2019 name. Amen.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Walking with men and women of deep faith through debilitating disease of their own or a dear family member, I have witnessed the rejoicing in suffering that breeds endurance and character. In the ICU waiting room with the family whose<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t