Hope Built from Struggles
Wednesday’s Verses:
From Romans 5:3-5 ESV
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Our lives can sometimes be literal train wrecks. We struggle. We get sick. We can’t seem to do anything right. Yet through it all, the hope that we have is grounded in the struggles that precede it. In a sense, we want to speed past the suffering, endurance, and character tests. But Saint Paul’s words are clear. Lasting, never-shamed hope is shaped in the fire of suffering.
Or as we learned in Sunday School from Romans 5 - suffering produces endurance (the ability to stand when everyone says sit down); endurance produces character (a soul that has been tried and tested, proven trustworthy); and character produces hope (a confidence that God is good, and in control, and that He will never leave us).
This is not “Hmm, I hope it’s sunny tomorrow” hope. This is a hope that has faced suffering, walked through the valley, and come out on the other side, still singing that God is good. And because God has poured out His love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, this “hope does not put us to shame.”
This hope is anchored in the steadfast love of the Father, sealed by the Spirit, and secured by the finished work of Christ. Trials are not a mistake. Don’t waste them. Let them do their deep, holy work. The pressure that you feel that is threatening to squeeze the life right out of you is the very pressure God is using to produce an unshakable hope in you.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, help me to rejoice even as I suffer, knowing that You are making endurance, character, and a hope that will never disappoint. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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