Journey, an update from Rachelle Sperling 2-8-07

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:2b-5

I have read these verses many times over the last two months and every time I have a different emotional response, a different perspective. I always love the first part, “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Hope is always something to rejoice in. To have the certain hope that God will be glorified is a great comfort for the believer. But then it says that we rejoice in our sufferings. Now there have been times when God has enabled me to rejoice in my sufferings, but that isn’t my natural first response.

Oswald Chambers, in one of his devotionals said, “The great difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and it is His blessing that make it difficult. Troubles nearly always make us look to God; His blessings are apt to make us look elsewhere.” Rouse yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter if there are a hundred and one things that press, resolutely exclude them all and look to Him.”

“Build your hope on Him.” Isn’t this what Romans chapter five is talking about? We go through hard times and sufferings with rejoicing because we are building our hope on Him. And how do we do it? How do we persevere with joy? I think it is exactly as Oswald Chambers stated, as Hebrews chapter eleven and 1 Peter 3:15 tells us. It is by fixing our eyes on Christ, by setting apart Christ as Lord in our lives. If we hope in Christ, we will not be disappointed! He has demonstrated His love to us “when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom 5:6b)

This is a love and a hope that can give joy and inspire perseverance in the middle of hardships.