“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.” (Romans 5:3–4 NLT)

 

Years ago, I had a friend who was very sick and asked me to pray for him. I did. He got worse. He said, “I don’t ever want you to pray for me again.”

In our estimation, sometimes things go the wrong way. We may pray, “Lord, heal this person. Be glorified through this.”

But the Lord might say, “I will be glorified, but I’m not going to do it the way you want Me to. I’m going to do this other thing instead.”

Sometimes God will remove the affliction. Sometimes God will heal the illness. Sometimes God will take away the cancer. But sometimes the person will get worse.

We usually don’t like that. But it is in these times that God can be glorified. Everyone suffers in life. Christians suffer, too. When a Christian is suffering and can still glorify God, that is a powerful testimony to a lost world. When non-Christians see us honoring the Lord through our suffering, it shows them how real our faith is. And guess what? It shows us how real our faith is, too.

Do you think your faith would get stronger if everything were easy in life? No, your faith will get stronger through hardship. Here’s something that might surprise you: You will develop even more hope through tribulation. Romans 5:3–4 says, “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” (NLT).

We must remember that as steel is tempered to make it stronger, God is tempering us to give us strength. Hebrews 4:16 says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (NLT). But that boldness must also be tempered with a sense of humility, recognizing that we don’t know what’s best in a given situation.

So, instead of offering suggestions as to how God might relieve our suffering, a better approach is to ask Him for the strength, courage, and faith to endure. Ask Him for the wisdom and discernment to recognize the lessons in our predicament. We must learn to look at every circumstance as an opportunity to grow and to understand the Lord better.

Hope grows in the garden of pain. It doesn’t grow without challenges or difficulty. It grows in hard times. It’s sort of like building muscle. You build it up by breaking it down. Then, as you keep working out, that muscle will get stronger. You develop strength through your weaknesses. This is true of Christians in their spiritual lives as well.

 

Reflection question: What would it look like for you to glorify God when you’re suffering? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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