We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials.
What? Ok, how?
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
(Romans 5:3-5 NLT)
When things are hard (and aren’t they for everyone right now?), you don’t have to smile and pretend otherwise.
A fake face won’t get you through a difficult situation. And even if you grimace and ache and lose focus because the circumstances felt like more than you could endure, there is good news.
There’s a principle that will work for your good—if you let it.
Difficulty helps us develop endurance.
This life is a marathon, not a sprint. Your life will have many seasons, and some of them will be fantastic. Your ability to endure and run the race God created you to run has everything to do with developing endurance.
I’ve been spending some time running. I know a lot of people think running isn’t fun. I can understand why. It hurts.
I’ve fallen in love with it.
I love the challenge. I’ve come to love the struggle itself as well as the endorphins that hit later on in the day when I feel more alive because I’ve pushed myself to go faster.
I’ve been going further, too. What used to be a difficult two or three miles has turned into five-, six-, and seven-mile runs. The more I run, the more endurance I have for running.
Difficulty helps us develop endurance.
The challenges you face today are building something in you for the future. The future will have joys, but it will have even more challenges, too. Your experience today is preparing you to thrive in the challenges ahead.
But, it’s not just endurance for endurance’s sake.
Endurance develops strength of character.
Character is everything—character matters in every circumstance. If you have it, it works everywhere.
If you don’t, nothing will work anywhere.
Maybe you will experience a short season of success, but without “character” as your foundation, whatever you build will eventually fall apart.
Character is:
- What you do when no one is looking
- Making the right choice, even if it’s hard or hurts
- Choosing the long-term over the short-term
- Delaying gratification
- Doing what is right whether or not it pays off for you
- Essential to all health and longevity of all committed relationships
We love people of character. They’re the ones we feel good around. And I’m not talking about “the personality types you gel with,” either.
Anyone, with any personality type, can be a person of character. These are people who, when you’re around them, leave you feeling better about yourself. Because of them, you can trust more. Believe more.
You feel both challenged and encouraged to be better.
When you’re in a difficult season, it builds endurance, and endurance grows character in you. You will be that person who others love being around because you have the inner fortitude of excellence. You are being molded into something solid, something others can build their lives around.
But, it’s not just being good for goodness’ sake. There is a further benefit…
Character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
When you choose to do what is right, even when there is no immediate return, your inner confidence will swell. You’ll gain an understanding and resolve that, no matter what happens, “this too will pass.” You know intuitively, you’ll make it through. Because even in the worst, you have chosen to take the next step in the right direction.
Hope wins. The future is shaped by those who have hope today. Not just a fleeting “I wish” but a confident “hope” that endures difficulty.
A confident faith that things are going to work together for our good.
In a very difficult season of my own life, when all my endeavors were coming apart at the seams, I opened my Bible to Romans 8:48:
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.“
I literally stood on my Bible, on top of that passage, in my closet.
I prayed: “I’m in a closet! I’m praying! And I’m standing on Your Word!” I felt better in the moment and fully expected an immediate response.
Nothing changed.
I mean, I had the right motivation. I risked it all for my calling, and I thought, Surely, God will come through and bail me out!
He didn’t. Well, not like I imagined. Actually, things got worse for a while.
Looking back, He led me down a lifegiving path, even if it wasn’t the path I wanted to take. It wasn’t the miracle I was looking for, but that experience—and even the difficulty that followed—built something deep within me.
I learned when things don’t go like I want,
or plan,
or even think God would allow,
God is still with me.
He was using the experience to build endurance and character. Together, it gives me a strong and confident hope during our current situation.
This, too, shall pass.
Either God will pull you out of this, or you’ll make it through.
These difficult times will give you endurance. Your endurance will give you character, and your character will give you hope for a better tomorrow.
Maybe you haven’t lived up to the standard you had for yourself.
None of us have.
At one point or another, we’ve all tried to take a shortcut. We’ve all tried to escape from the difficulty of the moment. And we’ve all indulged in sin when the pressure was on.
Here’s the good news.
There is forgiveness. There is a new day, and it can be today. This is the message that Jesus lived and died and rose again to communicate.
Grace, grace for you. Grace to help you stand up in the midst of temptation and grace to take this difficult situation and turn it around for your good.
You and I have an opportunity to grow both in and through all of life’s challenges.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
(Romans 5:3-5 NLT)