Romans 5:3 - And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, KNOWING that tribulation brings about perseverance;
I like that word Knowing. To have an understanding of what our trials can do for us. Once again, not looking at the trials from a woe-is-me, defeated mentality. (link) But knowing that our trials can be used by the Father to help mold and shape us.
Paul will expound upon this later in this letter to the Romans.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
All things work together for the good. Not some things. Now a few things. Not only those things that make sense to us. Not only those things that put more money in our pockets. But all things, TO INCLUDE THE TRIALS.
KNOWING that not only can we rejoice in the trial, but we can also endure any trial. We can persevere.
Think about it this way: Last week, when asked if I was still running, I responded that I had recently restarted. Then, as we continued talking, the conversation shifted to the marathon I ran.
I mentioned that I did not plan to run a marathon. My original goal was a 5K, so I trained to run a 3.1-mile race and liked it. Then I trained to run a 10k (6.2 miles) and enjoyed it also. With my competitive juices flowing, I decided to try a half marathon (13.2 miles) and liked it. Feeling extremely confident, I could not stop there, so I put in the work to run a full marathon (26.2 miles).
With each training session and each race, my endurance increased. Hot or cold. Wind blowing. Raining. Hills to climb. Sprints to run. Legs tired. It did not matter. Every time I kept going, when I felt like quitting or making an excuse, my physical and emotional endurance increased.
The same thing is true in life. Every time we refuse to quit, our spiritual and emotional endurance increases. Our ability to hold on increases. We learn to tell that excuse-making voice in the back of our heads to sit down and be quiet. We develop a propensity for putting our feelings in check. Telling them that they don’t run anything here. We are in this for the long haul.
We also experience the Father in a deeper, more profound way as we learn to lean and depend upon Him. We look towards the hill from which cometh our help, knowing that our help comes from the Lord. We learn that with God on our side, all things are possible. As we talked about last week, we learn how to be content in every situation we find ourselves in. We learn how to do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens us.
How to endure. Not giving up. Not making excuses. But stand in the midst of the trial, knowing that it will produce what? Perseverance!!! It will develop our spiritual lungs.