We Glory In Tribulations...

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Romans 5:3-5

It is easy for a Christian to boast about the goodness of Jesus when things are well in their respective lives, it’s easy for them to share their joy with others who are down or sad when they feel the presences of God in their lives; however, through today’s devotional we are reminded of the greatest ministry that we have which is developed through our trials and tribulations… As a child growing up, the feelings we expressed toward our parents were derived from the way in which we felt they treated us… If we got what we wanted they were the best parents on earth, but when the situation was not going as we planned and we were disappointed or disciplined the quickly became the parents that don’t understand me or are too harsh… This flip flop mentality is one that we cannot carry in the body of Christ… The same joy we experience in the sunshine we must display and experience in the rain… The words of encouragement you speak to your colleague amidst your trials and hardships should exude the foundation of love and trust that you have in Jesus Christ… We know that we have been saved by the grace of God (which is what Paul speaks of in the opening of this chapter); however, a lot of us celebrate the fact that we have life but don’t mention or accept the territory that we must travel of the landscape that we must journey in obtaining that gift which was poured out from Jesus on the Cross… So many of us claim to be about the work of the Lord, but in crunch time when the sweat begins to come forth we don’t keep our hands to the plow… This message today serves as a reminder that you can’t have one without the other… You can’t love Christ and not obey His commands; you can’t seek His face and not seek His will… This is why Paul writes this chapter in his letter to the Church of Rome; the message of Christ had gone forth, but the toiling and persecution was not accepted… This same principle is what plagues the church of today… We want the cake, but we don’t want to be in the kitchen to bring all the ingredients together… We want the end result, but not the beginning equation… Look at the first part of these verses, Paul says, “And not only so…” There’s so much joy experienced when one turns their life over to Christ, there is a newness felt within that cannot be put into words and the greatest artist of all cannot even begin to imagine and put to a canvass the speechless feeling that one gains when they now know they are now co-heirs with Christ… In the midst of this uncontrollable bliss, Paul wants us to remember that there is a marriage in the body of Christ that binds the grace of God with the trials and tribulations of the world… These two are inseparable and it’s simply all or nothing… So many of us spend our days trying to experience the grace of God without the persecutions that come with the grace and therefore we find ourselves trying to tip top through life and never walk by faith…

The faith you need to please God is lacking in our life which will then lead you to enduring more through your storms and not getting more out of them… Paul says that we glory in tribulations also; you must have a mindset which will take on the hardest obstacle and steepest mountain because of your trust and faith in Christ… Look at the passage, Paul is speaking about having glory amidst hardships and tribulations; He is referring to the individual deal with the storm and how you display yourself in the rain… Glory is beauty, splendor, brilliance or fame; there are some people in your life that need see your beauty in splendor when you go through stuff and not just when you feel comfortable and there is no storm in your current forecast… When you walk in faith your splendor will be evident no matter what you face… You thank God when things are God and praise Him for learning when you go through a test… This is why Paul says we glory in tribulations also: knowing… Your glory can been seen through all the clouds of life when you have faith in God knowing that the storms you face will not over take you but are preparing you for your next level or phase of life… The key to your beauty, the key to your smile, the key to your joy is found in knowing… When you know that God loves you, you don’t fret about the situation or the circumstances of tomorrow, when you know God loves you, you can embrace the most disgusting and ugliest of situations, when you know that God loves you, you can see the ray of hope in the rain and the light at the end of what appears to be a dark scary tunnel… You can accept the coruse of life which prevents challenges and changes, not because you love a test, but because you love God and know that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us… You are not enduring this rough time or dark situation on your own… The GPS (God’s Plan of Salvation) will lead you and give you the turn by turn directions that you need to arrive to your divine destination safely… James tells us that we should consider it pure joy whenever we face trials and tribulations… Paul tells us today in his letter to the Church of Rome that we are to glory in tribulations! How hard is it for you to smile while you’re in pain? How hard is it for you to say a kind word when you’re are struggling and seeing others around you flourish? We have to understand that as a child of God tribulations is going to be manifested in our lives… We have to acknowledge that fact that we must go through growing pains and hardships in order to reach the plateau which Christ has called us too… Jesus told us to keep in mind that they hated him first, you will be hated on, you will be abused, scorned, mocked, and insulated; but, the greatest testimony you can have is to cling to God’s unchanging hand and know that you are on a road to victory! Jesus endured the most humiliating hardships known to man; the cross, but just as a sheep before his shearers he never said a mumbling word… Let us maintain our joy, stay encouraged and remember that each trial you face serves a purpose in your life… The love of God has been shed on your life, it will cover you, keep you, and sustain you until he returns… The word says He will never put more on us than we can bare, the focus should be on the fact that we each have to bare a load and not that we presume this road to be easily traveled!

BE BLESSED!!!