Strong and Steady Hope
Romans 5:1-5, The Living Bible...
"So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."
God’s word tells us clearly, laying out the formula for our hope and faith to grow through the building up of our character. Character is defined as, “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual; the distinctive nature of something; the quality of being individual in an interesting or unusual way; strength and originality in a person's nature; a person's good reputation.”
Verse 3 and 4 (in my own words; you should try to rewrite it in your own words and understanding)... Rejoice when we are confronted with problems because we know deep down in our soul that those problems we face are good for us! Problem, challenges, hardship helps us develop and learn patience! (ain’t that the truth!) Learning to be patient develops strength and endurance in our interior selves; our character develops and grows into the likeness of Jesus. Because our character grows and gets stronger, we learn to trust Jesus the more times we face problems and pain. When we have no where else to turn or no one else to lean on or blame, we turn to Jesus for help and He is there to help!
This pandemic is developing and strengthening our patience which in turn is developing and strengthening our hope and faith in Jesus which ultimately is developing and strengthening our character to become more like Jesus in the workplace, in our homes, around our families and friends, within our church family so that the world will see and meet Jesus because they have met Him through us!