Trouble Don’t Last Always
We have heard that phrase, “Trouble don’t last always,” many times and yes, there is some comfort found in it. The idea that when you find yourself in trouble, the pain of it does not last long. You can endure this trouble because the pain of it will not be long! How about tribulation? Tribulation, defined as “a state of great trouble or suffering also as distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution.” Related words to tribulation are affliction, distress, suffering, trial, adversity, hardship, grief, persecution, and woe.
“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 not put us to shame, because God’s love has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5: 3-5 (ESV)
Tribulation, such a strong word, refers to real hardship and I think we can all agree that whenever faced with any trial, it feels real! It feels hard! The author of Romans, Paul, lived a life full of tribulation. Paul knew the truth of ‘Tribulation’ the best and he knew that all the trials he endured produced perseverance.
MINI STUDY
“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 not put us to shame, because God’s love has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5: 3-5 (ESV)
Perseverance
Verse (3) Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, Knowing that suffering produces endurance,
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4
If we go back through verses 1 - 2 of Romans 5, Paul, the author of Romans, gives us some footing (comfort) to stand on to show us how we can rejoice in our sufferings. I really admire Paul and the fact that in all his letters he gives us a clear look at what our walk with God should be. Paul speaks the truth and he knew the truth better than anyone did. You may ask, who is Paul? Paul the Apostle, was a follower of Jesus but he was not of the original twelve. Paul, who was named Saul, committed to persecuting the early followers of Jesus in the region of Jerusalem. He had an encounter with Jesus while traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus with the purpose to arrest the followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem. This encounter struck him blind, his sight was renewed and he began to preach of Jesus, the Son of God. You can read more about Paul's life and works in the book of Acts.
So back to rejoicing in our sufferings... the word rejoice means to feel great joy. In Greek, the word translated to rejoice means to be favorably disposed to God’s grace. Biblically, to rejoice means to experience God’s grace! Do you know the word Rejoice shows up 143 times in the Old Testament and 56 times in the New Testament? God is really trying to tell us something! He is saying, “I got you!” We don’t have the capability to take care of ourselves as God does, so why is it so hard for us to let him go before us in every situation or trial? REJOICE - GOD HAS YOU!
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” - 1 Peter 5:10
When I ran track as a sprinter in high school, my coach would make us run long distances. I never liked to run for long periods and often thought why! However, I soon learned to appreciate them as those long distance conditioning sessions came in handy when we had someone on the team that could not run races and I had to jump in to help the team. I was ready to contribute and had the endurance to finish those races without injuries.
Verse (4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” - Romans 15:4
We as Christians should be eager to grow and mature in our faith. Perseverance, Character, and Hope are virtues we need to build and develop ourselves to walk out God’s purpose for our lives.
God Won’t Give Us More Than We Can Handle
God measures out the tribulation in our lives and uses it to strengthen our faith. We as humans all experience trials no matter if we believe or not. The benefit to our belief is that God can make the trial favorable for us. We can change our perspective on how we see trials from something that is a burden to an opportunity to go higher in God. God grows us up with each trial and we become wiser with each one if we take the time to look at what He has brought us through, how He answered prayer, and what He revealed to us. When we take the time to look at how He brought us through, we grow (go further, persevering) and emerge strengthened in our godly Character, producing more hope.
So, are you confident enough to say to God, BRING ON THE TRIALS? Have you experienced enough tribulation to fully trust that God has you in the midst of the hardship? Are you looking forward to watching how God brings you through it repeatedly and again?
Verse (5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” - Isaiah 40:31
Verse five states that this hope, which is built from all this hardship, is rewarding and we should rest (have peace) on that thought because God has proved to us time-and-time again that He CAN DO ALL THINGS! His promises never fail and he designed us to perform his perfect purpose. He has also given us everything we need to go through tribulation along with the best gift, The Holy Spirit. When was the last time you called on The Holy Spirit or stopped and waited to hear what the Spirit has for you?
Are Your Eyes Open
Are your spiritual eyes open? Can you recognize God’s glory and grace while it is being placed upon you in real time? Paul did! Yes! While he was in a Roman prison, he wrote that it felt like there was not much to rejoice in while in prison, but he was still experiencing God’s grace in that place.
"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice." - Philippians 4:4
I read chapter 4 of Philippians to my father as he lay in a coma state after experiencing two cardiac arrests. I cannot tell you why I chose to read it, only that the Holy Spirit directed me. I read from his bible, a book that I had seen on his bookshelf most of my young life but I did not know it was a bible until that Sunday afternoon. Prior to this experience, I had not spoken to my father in 10 years. I was living an unbearable truth because my father and I used to be inseparable. Later, after my mother’s death, God revealed that I had to endure this pain so that I could take care of my mother but prior to this I went years not fully understanding why he didn’t want me in his life. I was troubled by it and for the most part angry that he would rather throw our relationship away than mend it. The pain of not having the relationship I was used to with my dad was too much to bear, I just had to give it to God. Therefore, in the 5th year of this painful trial, I said a prayer; “Lord, please take care of my dad. Surround him with love and people who will love him. If he ever needs me, please make a way for me to get to him. AMEN.”
This prayer was answered January 14 of 2020, 9 months after my mothers’ passing, I received a call from his best friend Chuck letting me know my father had cardiac arrests and was not going to make it. As he told me the news, I could hear a priest in the background reading him his last rights. I could not believe what was happening. No way was I losing my father too! I yelled and screamed for God! “Lord not him too!” I just knew I was not strong enough to endure this too. As I went back into my office, my boss asked me what was going on. I explained what I just heard and before I knew it, my boss booked me the last plane leaving for Seattle that night. I was holding my father’s hand the next day at 7AM!
Because of my prior suffering, watching my mother take her last breath, I learned that when your loved one is in a coma state they can hear you but cannot respond. I knew I had to get to my father and tell him that I loved him and that I was sorry for not being strong enough to do it earlier. Even though he could not respond, he could hear me. These prior trials gave me the endurance to be there for my father. Later during my father’s going home service, so many people came to me expressing their gratitude for how I handled being there for him. They witnessed forgiveness, gratitude, and humility. God gave me five glorious days with my father when I only asked for a moment. I got the chance to talk to him, play his favorite music, hold his hand, and be his doting daughter. This trial strengthened my character especially when I shared my prayer with anyone who would listen. That character produced hope and I was not ashamed to tell them all about my God and all he has done for me!
So what can we take away from all of this? Tribulation is what we use to build our endurance! We must learn to rejoice in our tribulation. It's not that we find pleasure in the circumstances; we find pleasure in what the circumstance will bring - a strengthened faith & God’s unlimited blessings.
LET US PRAY
Father,
You are my strength and my provision. I become more confident every day in the knowledge to rejoice in the trials because it builds up my godly character and produces more hope in you.
Lord, You continue to pour infinite love on me and for this I am forever grateful.
Come now, Holy Spirit into every situation. Guide me and direct me in every decision. I want to leap with joy in anticipation of the glory and grace you will bestow on my life.
I thank you for your promises and I thank you for all the blessings you have given and those I have yet to experience.
Father, I seal this prayer rejoicing in your Son Jesus name, AMEN
SING A SONG OF PRAISE
SOMETHING TO PONDER
1. Who is the Apostle Paul?
2. Why is it so hard for us to let God go before us in every situation or trial? Have you experienced enough tribulation to fully trust that God has you in the midst of the hardship?
2. Why is it so hard for us to let God go before us in every situation or trial? Have you experienced enough tribulation to fully trust that God has you in the midst of the hardship?
3. Are you looking forward to watching how God brings you through it repeatedly and again?
4. Are your spiritual eyes open? Can you recognize God’s glory and grace while it is being placed upon you in real time?
4. Are your spiritual eyes open? Can you recognize God’s glory and grace while it is being placed upon you in real time?
ACTIVITY
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