Romans 5:3-4 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope."

 Paul says we are to rejoice in our suffering. He doesn't mean faking it.  He's not talking about putting on a plastic smile and pretending everything's OK.  He's not saying be a Pollyanna and deny reality.  He's not talking about an artificial happiness.  Many people take these verses and think that as a Christian you have to always to be smiling.  That's hypocrisy, being a phony.  Jesus never expects you to be a phony.  That's not what rejoicing in suffering means -- that you pretend that everything is OK when it's not.

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