-- 1 Peter 1:6, NLT
Perseverance has a point. Trials have purpose. In a word, it is hope. And hope is an incredibly powerful thing.
Paul writes:
We rejoice in hope... 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 put us to shame (does not disappoint, NASB)...
-- Romans 5:2-5
Rejoicing (in hope) is easy when it is easy. But there is a depth of hope that comes through fire. It is an unshakable hope. Hope with muscles. Hope with scars.
Persevering through trials deepens and refines character. Who we truly are - and are becoming - is both forged and revealed in the furnace of difficulty. And the hope that is easy in the easy times becomes an experienced commodity. It becomes a part of who we are. It IS who we are.
The hope of (and in) God NEVER DISAPPOINTS!
God, I will hope in you.
For now...
D
