Because of love

". . . because God's love has been poured into our hearts." - Romans 5:5b

Dear Friends in Christ -

The apostle Paul knew something about suffering. In the course of his career as a missionary, he was beaten and chased out of town and jailed and mocked and shipwrecked . . . and beaten some more. But when he talked about his suffering, he didn't talk about how unfair it was. He didn't dwell on his aches and pains or quit being a disciple because of the horrible way he was treated.

There's something else Paul didn't do in response to suffering: he didn't say he enjoyed it! NO ONE enjoys suffering, and God doesn't expect us to pretend that things are hunky-dorey when they're not.

But God does ask us to be patient and to trust him while we're waiting-waiting-waiting for God's promise to unfold. What promise? His promise to make ALL THINGS work together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) The trick for Paul - and for us - is not to give up on God while he's in the process of getting the job done.

Paul didn't give up on God, and because of God's love, he learned the following secret, which he shared in a letter to the church in Rome:
" . . . suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint us . . ."

Faithfully,
Janet+