“It is through suffering that we become something that previously we were not.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 5, 2025
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5, NIV
My son and I enjoy watching basketball together, and recently, our favorite team had a massive tournament game that we were both excited to see. However, due to scheduling conflicts, I ended up watching it live and he wasn’t able to view it until later that day. Our team was cruising to a win with a 14-point lead late in the game when, out of nowhere, their offense collapsed just as the other team “remembered” how to sink 3-point shots. The game imploded, and we ended up losing by 2 points. I knew all of this as my son sat down to start the game from the beginning, and everything in me wanted to say, “Stop! Don’t even turn it on! Let me keep you from the disappointment!” And yet, this is a path every true sports fan must walk, for the highs are never quite as high if you don’t let yourself walk through the pain of the lows. When glory finally comes our team’s way (let it be so, Lord!), it will be all the sweeter for having walked through moments such as these.
Of course, in the scheme of things, sporting highs and lows are trivial and should never impact our lives in any major way, yet there’s a principle here that I believe applies to the whole of life. Though we may be tempted to avoid all pain and suffering, we simply will never become people who persevere without it. It is through suffering that we become something that previously we were not.
Is suffering pleasant? Of course not. In its worst forms, “unpleasant” doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. It can threaten to unmake us. To ruin us at every level, to the point that hope is lost and we feel as though we cannot take another step or breathe another breath. Yet hope is precisely what we have been called to, and the only way we become people of hope is to stare into the abyss and despair not. To, as it were, go to the depths of hell and realize that “even there your hand will guide me” (Psalm 139:10). Whatever you have to endure today, be it small and simple or the greatest trial of your life, know that the Lord is with you and making you into someone who is able to persevere, clinging to hope even when all hope seems lost.
Prayer
Father, remind us that you are with us, no matter where we are or what we are going through, and that you will lead us through this moment, making us into the men and women you have made us to be as we walk this road with faith, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Ask the Lord today to remind you that he is with you, wherever you may be.
Related Reading
Psalm 23:4; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:12-13
Worship Resource
Jessie Harris: Known By You
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