Romans 5:1-5
When I was first married, we had a small leak in our half bath downstairs. When I tried to repair it, instead of tightening the pipes, I disconnected them. Do you know how small those pipes are? And do you know what small pipes do to water pressure? Water shot out of there so hard and fast that pieces of toilet paper were blasted onto the ceiling.
That was a perfect example of Murphy’s Law which is, “Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. Yup! Been there, done that!
My co-worker recently had a streak of bad luck. First her stove died and they went for weeks before the replacement arrived. Then one of their cars was making some weird noises. Several hundred dollars later, the noise was gone. Finally, the dish washer started leaking and had to be replaced. Have you ever heard of the saying, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all”? Been there, done that!
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for
we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance
develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of
salvation. NLT
To respond to adversity with rejoicing or pure joy seems not only counter-intuitive, but ridiculous. Why would you do such a thing? I’m glad you asked.
This
is not to say that adversity isn’t hard, because it is. But even in adversity,
we can know that God is with us; He is working in our life to draw us closer to
Him; and that He loves us no matter what happens.
That, my friend, is cause to rejoice.
That was a perfect example of Murphy’s Law which is, “Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. Yup! Been there, done that!
My co-worker recently had a streak of bad luck. First her stove died and they went for weeks before the replacement arrived. Then one of their cars was making some weird noises. Several hundred dollars later, the noise was gone. Finally, the dish washer started leaking and had to be replaced. Have you ever heard of the saying, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all”? Been there, done that!
Adversity,
affliction, problems, struggles, suffering, issues, trials, temptations, testing,
or troubles - whatever you want to call them; we’ve all experienced them. But
Paul and James suggest dealing with them in a highly unusual way.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing
of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish
its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1 NIV
To respond to adversity with rejoicing or pure joy seems not only counter-intuitive, but ridiculous. Why would you do such a thing? I’m glad you asked.
5 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. NIV
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from
God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our
fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can
separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in
the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate
us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8 NLT
That, my friend, is cause to rejoice.
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