Endurance and Hope

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:05] Hey everybody. Pastor Chuck Allen here and I want to thank you for joining me on another weekday podcast where today I want to talk about endurance, character and hope. [00:00:14] Today let's take just a few minutes and reflect on one of the most counterintuitive, yet profoundly comforting truths that I think is in all of the Bible. Romans 5, verses 1 through 4. [00:00:27] Paul begins by saying that we've been made right in God's sight by faith, meaning that our relationship with God no longer stands on what we've done, but on what Jesus the Lord has already done and accomplished. It is grace upon grace. But then Paul takes this surprising turn. He tells us we can actually rejoice in our suffering. Now, that's not just some pious way of saying cheer up or like get over it. He's saying that for the believe the follower of Jesus, trials are never, ever wasted. They're part of a divine process that deepens our faith and strengthens our hope. [00:01:09] And when life feels like it's pressing in, when the diagnosis comes, when the dream dies, or when the waiting stretches longer than you thought that you could totally bear, Paul says endurance is being built. Endurance leads to character, and character give birth to hope. [00:01:30] Not some vague optimism Pollyanna world, but a confident expectation that God is doing something far greater than we could ever see. [00:01:42] One of my favorite authors, Tim Keller, once said that suffering doesn't destroy faith, it reveals what our faith is placed in. [00:01:51] He said, if your ultimate hope is success, comfort or control, suffering will tear it apart. But if your hope is in Christ Jesus, suffering only presses that hope deeper into your soul until it becomes unshakable. How beautiful is that? [00:02:08] So today, wherever you might find yourself, maybe in a board meeting, in a truck, to a job site, on a treadmill, working through life with a two year old or just with a boss that's screaming, I need more from you, hold on to that chain that Paul described. Faith brings you peace with God. [00:02:30] Peace births endurance in your soul, and endurance shapes your character. And that character anchors you in hope that will never disappoint because it's rooted in the one who's already overcome. My friend, you're standing in a place of undeserved privilege today. [00:02:51] Even if life feels unstable, you're on solid ground. God's grace has brought you here and his love will see you through. [00:03:01] Thanks so much for joining me for just a few minutes of peace, presence and direction on today's weekday podcast. I'll be back tomorrow and I'm so grateful you joined me because it's a joy to share. Just a little cup of encouragement each day and thank you for listening and God bless you. Bye now.