Last week, we looked at the foundation of our joy: the grace of God and His free gift of eternal life in Christ. Heaven seems like a great reason to rejoice, right? But in the next verse of Romans 5, Paul throws a curveball:

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings . . .” (Romans 5:3a)

Wait, what? I’m on board with rejoicing in the thought of eternal glory, but rejoicing in suffering? You better explain yourself, Paul!

“ . . . Knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3b-4)

I’d love to develop endurance, character, and hope. But if I’m honest, I’d rather enjoy a comfortable, easy, suffering-free life. I lose interest my character development quickly if it requires suffering to get there.

However, God is more concerned with my character than my comfort. He is working to conform me to the likeness of His Son, not to conform my lifestyle to match my neighbor’s. Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic and cancer survivor, says it this way: “Sometimes God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves.”

God hates suffering, illness, tragedy, and death. But in His mysterious sovereignty, He uses suffering to accomplish what He loves: teaching His beloved children endurance, growing our character, and giving us hope. As our earthly foundations crumble through suffering, we see that the only true source of hope is the Lord. Suffering is not good. But finding our hope in the Lord is very good indeed.

No matter what you face this week, your suffering will produce something wonderful—hope in the Lord.

 

This devotional originally appeared on my blog on July 11, 2016. I’m taking a break from writing this month to spend more time with my family and hope you enjoy these replays!

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What makes you happy?

A good night’s sleep? A delicious dinner you didn’t have to cook? A new pair of shoes? (Those are all near the top of my list!)

These small blessings bring happiness, but often those feelings are fleeting. We enjoy dinner out with friends and then our mood sours because an inconsiderate driver cuts us off on our way home. We’re ecstatic about our new shoes until we see someone else with a pair we’d rather have. And when we struggle with ongoing, difficult circumstances, happiness can be hard to find—no matter how many pairs of shoes we buy.

Last week, we saw in Romans 5:1 that we have peace with God through faith in Christ. In the next verse, we read that we always have a reason to rejoice:

“Through [Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2)

Because of Christ, we have a secure standing before God and a firm hope in eternal life. We stand in the grace of Christ’s righteousness given to us. He gives us the promise that we will share in God’s glory one day in Heaven. This is an unchanging reason to rejoice!

This week as you face difficulties, cling to the promise that you stand secure in God’s grace and the hope of eternity with Him. And as Paul says in Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

No matter what you face this week, God’s promises give you a reason to rejoice.

 

This devotional originally appeared on my blog on July 4, 2016. I’m taking a break from writing this month to spend more time with my family and hope you enjoy these replays!

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What are your greatest fears? Take a minute and name a few. Now answer this: what should be your greatest fears?

Maybe you’re afraid of natural disasters or terrorism affecting your family. But statistically speaking, you should be more concerned about car accidents and heart disease. Sometimes our greatest fears don’t line up with the greatest threats we face.

If we fear that which is our greatest threat, we should all fear God’s wrath. We belong to a holy and righteous Creator who will hold us accountable for our actions. And we will all fall short (Romans 3:23). But the good news of the gospel is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). If you are in Christ by faith, you are covered by His righteousness and have no reason to fear!

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

Because of Christ, we have peace with God. We are reconciled to our Heavenly Father and Righteous Judge, the Lord God Almighty. We are declared righteous by God because of the righteousness given to us by Christ. Justification by faith eliminates our greatest threat – that which should be our greatest fear.

As a result, we can live confidently and face all our lesser fears. All other threats are temporary. All other fears come under the reign of the One who gave His own Son to turn away His wrath from us. We can praise His name as we walk through suffering because our greatest need has been met: our need to have peace with God.

No matter what you face this week, you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

This devotional originally appeared on my blog on June 27, 2016. I’m taking a break from writing this month to spend more time with my family and hope you enjoy these replays!

 

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