The Bible says:
“We can rejoice, too, when we
run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our
confident hope of salvation. 5 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)
Rejoice? Really?
We can “rejoice” when we run into “problems and trials”? That’s not what I wanted to hear today, how
about you? But it is logical if you look
at what the Bible says here. There is a
progression: As we endure our struggles
it builds character in us as well as confidence or hope. When we accomplish little things, it builds
our confidence (or faith) to accomplish bigger things. When we look at a past and see what we have
been through, it gives us HOPE to face an uncertain future knowing that we have
“been there, done that”.
We also have HOPE because of
what God has done for us and what He promises to do. We are reminded by this
text “how dearly God loves us”.
Wow! That gives hope. God loves YOU! God loves ME!
God loves US! And He proves it by
giving us the Holy Spirit; Jesus said the Holy Spirit would live IN us and be
WITH us and would be our comforter.
Finally, the Bible says that God (by the Holy Spirit) will fill our
hearts with His love, a love that we can share with others.
As we enter a New Year, we
know that there will be problems that we will face. But we also know that we have been
there before and here we are – we survived.
We have HOPE because God loves us and is with us and fills us with His
love.
Happy New Year!!
