Perseverance, character and hope...

Rom 5: 3 – 5: 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.

Let's look briefly at the purposes God has with suffering as outlined in this verse. We see here some of the benefits suffering produces in us. The first is perseverance. It means that we have the ability to endure. And what is the benefit of perseverance? It is this: It makes us steady under fire. And I don't know about you, but I want to have that kind of person around me when I am going through spiritual battles.

The second benefit is character. This is something that comes from our experience of going through the fire. When we have withstood the tests of faith and responded well, we become qualified, because character qualifies us as a person of worth.
Think about the kind of people who have made a difference in your life. They are people of substance and depth. They experienced life and learned from it. They have something to say, because they have gone through the valley. They have gone through the fire. They are the people who make a difference.

A third benefit is hope. Because we believe in God, we can have hope for the future. We know that God is at work. We know that God is doing something, even when we do not understand what that is. Hope is the decision to trust in the gracious, loving sovereignty of God. And we need hope. It make us confident that God is doing something eternal in us.

And why should we trust God when we go through times of suffering?
Because we know that he loves us!
Rom 5 : 6 – 8: At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.