Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
Nobody signs up for suffering. Nobody puts it on their vision board. But Paul says we glory in it — not because suffering is good, but because of what it produces.
Suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance produces character. Character produces hope. That's a chain reaction that starts in the hardest place and ends in the most powerful one.
The athlete who has never been pushed never knows what they're made of. The person who has never suffered never discovers the depth of God's faithfulness. Your suffering is not wasted. It is working something in you that comfort never could.
Lord, I don't ask for suffering — but I trust You in it. Use what is hard to produce something in me that nothing else can. Amen.
I block the lie that my suffering is pointless. Suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope — and God is working in every hard moment.
James 1:2-3 (NIV)
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
- 1
What suffering in your life right now could God be using to produce perseverance and character?
- 2
How does knowing that suffering has a purpose change how you face it?