WE REJOICE IN HARDSHIPS, PERSEVERE, BUILD CHARACTER AND HOPE! (Rom 5:1-5; AMP)

The need to mature as Christians thru trials in life is the greatest practical theme in the Bible. Apostle Paul shows us how to apply the doctrine in daily living. He has told us that we are justified by faith, that we have peace, access to stand, and we should rejoice in the hope ahead. In other words, the true believer is sure of his place in heaven. He rejoices in his hope. Knowing and believing these doctrines produces joy. These are facts of the Christian foundation. This maturity comes thru this ‘knowing…’, which is the work of the Holy Spirit. Practically, the following are the effects of justification by grace and thru faith in the Lord Jesus Christ:

1-The first thing we see is that a Christian ‘rejoices in his hardships’. In Greek, the word rejoice means ‘to glory, to make noise, to joyfully boast about something’. This is not a quiet joy. It is vocal. This is a reminder that the Christian life is not easy. There are trials, sufferings, attacks, hardships, and tribulations. The world gets happy only when things go well. Unbelievers hate troubles. They see nothing good in them. But the believer rejoices in them. Why? Because he finds God even in times of troubles! The Christian does not pray for problems to come, but when they do come, he finds God’s purpose in them, and he rejoices. The word ‘hardships’ means ‘pressures’ of life. These are divided into two: The pressures of society and self-imposed pressures. In the first group, for example, teenagers, under peer pressure, want to go to university abroad; young women want to marry before they are thirty; the graduate wants a good job immediately; the married couple wants children immediately after the wedding. Self-imposed pressure is from within. None gives you stress. You give it yourself. You envy others and you want to be rich, famous and successful like them. You want the latest car like the rich… You want to be slim… But you are not realistic. You want things that may not be good for you. That pressure leads to frustration and depression. You need to humble yourself, pray to know God’s will for your life and stop comparing yourself with others. You are created unique by God. Forget others! Fulfill your own destiny. Do not add more stress to your life! Be free! Be yourself! Our Lord addressed this. He said: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). In Jesus’ name, rejoice and overcome your own world! Amen!

In His sermon on the mount, our Lord said that trials will come just because we belong to Him. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:11,12). We see that the Chistian will be criticized, persecuted and insulted just because he belongs to Christ. This persecution coming from the secular and the religious world is to be expected. It is ‘normal’. Why is the Christian persecuted? First, it is because He has the Spirit of Christ in Him. As men hated Jesus, they will hate the Christian. The believer is unique. The world hates anyone who is different, who is special. Men cannot control the Christian. Therefore, they will insult him. The Christian believes in the God of heaven. He knows that one day he will go there. His faith in God and heaven keeps him strong through all situations. Worldly men hate heaven because they hate death. That is why they buy expensive clothes, cars and live like there is no tomorrow. The unbeliever does everything so that he forgets about death. But the Christian is different. He has a hope of glory which is stronger than his fear of death. The world finds that thinking strange and abuses him. Selah!

The false prophets and the cult leaders promise a life free from all problems. They say something like this: “Accept Jesus and you will never have any problems in life!” They give false hopes to people. This promise is not Biblical. Problems do indeed come. Life is not easy. In fact, because they experience persecutions, the Christians have more problems than the unbelievers. But the interesting thing is that believers make progress by faith even through hardship. By experience, they learn that all trials and temptations cannot quench their hope of glory. They discover that God remains the same before, during and after the storm. God’s Love never changes! Trials only confirm that Love!

We are told that believers are ‘persecuted for Jesus’ sake’. What does that mean? Persecution means to oppress, harass or insult someone because of his race, or religion. This is a fact: all true believers are persecuted. Apostle Paul said: “But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2Tim 3:10-12). This persecution happens not because believers are troublemakers, difficult, or overzealous. They are not persecuted because they are kind or do noble deeds. Every religious unbeliever wants to do good deeds and to be praised by men. The Christians are persecuted just because they are different. They are holy like Jesus. By their words and deeds, believers remind people of Jesus. Their Love convict unbelievers. That is why they react. Who are the persecutors? The world is the main oppressor. Secondly, the religious unbelievers in the church also persecute the true believers. Selah!

How does a Christian react to provocation and persecution? First, he must always obey God’s Word! He must not pay back evil for evil. He must not retaliate. He must not seek vengeance. He must remain calm, loving, and ‘turn the other cheek’ (Matt 5:39). “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). He must pray for the strength to endure the attack, pray for divine wisdom on what to say. He must not react in anger. He must not become bitter or depressed because of the attacks. He must keep his peace. Amen!

The believer is able to rejoice that he is persecuted for Christ’s sake, being in the same category with the prophets of old. The apostles were imprisoned and beaten by the religious leaders because they preached in Jesus’ name. Yet, they rejoiced! “So, they left the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy [dignified by indignity] to suffer shame for [the sake of] His name” (Acts 5:41; AMP).

What does the Christian do when problems come? The first thing is to pray for more grace, strength, and divine wisdom. He knows that God is there for him always. This ‘knowing’ is deep and extremely strong. Faith in God is the power behind the Christian rejoicing and boasting of Jesus during the storm. The believer sees God in the center of all things, including the painful things. He sees trials as discipline coming from God the Father (Heb 12:5-11). He knows that God does not send trials to the unbelievers in the same way. God trains him as a son who must represent his Father. Trials are a training school for the Christian as an ambassador of Christ. The pain gives the Christian joy and adds proof that he is not an illegitimate son. The pain draws him closer to God and God reminds him how much He loves him. As he runs the Christian race, in the pain, he finds his gain. This positive effect of pain is to change the character. The believer discovers how deep God’s love is for him, especially during trials. The unbelievers behave differently. They do not draw closer to God. They become angry and bitter, blaming God during their pains. The trials expose them, by washing away their pretense of faith and peace. Lesson: this is a good test to know if you are a true believer or not. What is your reaction during the trials of life? When things are easy, anyone can claim to be a Christian going to heaven. But what do you do, or think, or say, during difficult times? Examine yourself! Selah!

Tribulations are many and different. These can be persecution, insults, attacks of sickness, poverty, or loneliness. It does not mean that the Christian is happy when troubles come to him. He is sad like any other human being. But he does not stay sad!!! He prays and asks God for strength, guidance and wisdom. Please observe that ‘we rejoice IN our hardships.’ We do not just wait for the pain to go. In the midst of it all, during the hardships of life, we can truly thank God! We feel God’s presence. We know that we are not alone! We rejoice because God has a purpose for everything. We rejoice in the pain because the pain has come to push us closer to God. The believer knows that nothing happens to him is by accident. He knows that God is sovereign over all. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28). God’s promise never fails! Even now, give thanks to God!

Dear Christian, how can you rejoice during suffering? This is the answer: It is because you know your identity and purpose in Christ. You know who you are, to whom you belong. You know that Jesus died to save your soul, and He has promised to never leave you alone! This assurance of salvation and of heaven gives you courage to face any opposition. During attacks, you feel the presence of God with you. God’s Love covers you. You do not fear men or their wicked words. In life or death, you know that thru Christ you are always a winner.

Finally, what is the promised reward? The Bible does not describe it. But we know that in heaven we shall see Jesus, face to face. We shall have spiritual bodies like Jesus. We shall worship forever the Lamb upon the throne. We shall live in mansions in glory. Therefore, God’s presence is the greatest reward. That hope makes us exceedingly glad even when we suffer for the sake of Jesus! Hallelujah!

2-Secondly, we are told that “hardship produces patient endurance (perseverance)”. The word ‘produce’ means to manufacture. This is the spiritual production line of the Holy Spirit. The raw material becomes the expected product. The Christian rejoices in hardships because he has discovered the good effect pain has on him. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is Patience. In Greek, ‘Patience’ means to persevere during hardship, with cheerful endurance as you wait for God to help you. It means to be steadfast (fixed in one direction, firm in purpose, not shaking from faith, being faithful, and loyal). It means not giving up, standing and trusting God. The opposite of steadfast means to shake and abandon your position, to bend, or to betray your friend. During trials, the Holy Spirit tests, purifies and strengthens your faith. Every believer testifies that hardship made him stronger in faith. This strength manifests only in the true believers. This is the testimony of all believers: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep and honor Your word [with loving obedience]” (Ps 119:67; AMP).

3-Thirdly, we are also told that “endurance proves character”. As the faith gets stronger, you learn to stand and persevere during the trial. You can see what God is doing thru the trial. The result is that you now rejoice even in the pain. This produces stability of character. This blessing can only happen as God does His great work in you in the fire. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (Jam 1:2-4). The natural man is impatient and restless. Even the baby Christian is impatient. All he wants is that the pain should go away. Patience and wisdom are twins. Led by the Holy Spirit, the trials of life build up character that is tried in the fire and proven to be genuine. In the Bible, the word Character always means proven moral character. The mature Christian has the scars to prove that God’s fire has purified, approved and established him. Thru hardships, we learn to Love an invisible but Loving Jesus!

These are some of the characteristics of a Christian who has a mature godly moral character:

*First, this man is a Lover! He loves God with all his heart. Secondly, he loves people as he loves himself. Love is the greatest proof that this man has a proven moral character. If you want to know who is genuine, then look for agape Love in his words and actions. Love is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that true believers are known by Love and unbelievers are known by wickedness (Matt 7:17).  

*The godly man is humble, submissive and teachable. He submits to God, to Christ and to the human authority given to him by God! He loves to serve others, to help them with their needs. “Through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:13,14).

*This man pays the price to grow spiritually. He is not stagnant. He loves God’s Word, prayer, and church activities. For example, Apostle Paul, who is considered the greatest Christian who has ever lived, continue to pay the price for spiritual maturity. “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Phil 3:12).

*This godly man is responsible. He is hard working. He takes care of his household needs. He does not borrow except in emergency. “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1Tim 5:8). This man is worthy of trust. He does what is right and the things expected of him. He accepts the blame if anything goes wrong.

*He is generous with his resources. “The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself” (PV 11:25).

*He is kind, forgiving. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:32).

*He fears God. “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (PV 31:30)

*He is strong and courageous (Josh 1:6,7,9). He is not a coward!

*He speaks Truth in Love (Eph 4:15). He is a good communicator. He does not gossip or slander. He is an encourager.

There are some people in the Bible who have great moral character. For example, Joseph, King David, Daniel, Ruth, Esther, Mordecai, the wife in Proverbs 31, and others, were shining examples of godly behavior even in difficult or dangerous times. They were not born like that. They were all sinners saved by Grace. But they paid the price for spiritual maturity and godly character. Fame is what people see. It is who people think you are. But Character is who you really are, the things you do when no man is watching. Doing the right thing is never easy. But standing for what is right, doing good to people, is a test of our moral character. Iron is known for its strength. Nature is known for her beauty. In the same way, a godly man is known by his excellent character. It is built by constantly seeking God’s will in every decision in life. Children are 25% of the present population and 100% of the future. As parents, we must display and teach godly values to our children. Study a moral godly man! Look at the things he loves and at the things he hates. That will tell you the truth about that man!

4-Godly moral Character produces more hope! Hope is defined as the Joyful expectation of the future. It is only a man who loves God and people, who is humble, teachable and submissive, who pays the price to grow spiritually, who is hardworking, responsible, and generous that has hope for the future. After passing the fire of affliction, the Christian is now trustworthy, faithful, and emotionally stable. God can trust him with His resources. This maturity leads to greater hope. We started with hope, and we’ll end shall with hope. The Old Saints said that Hope is both the father and the child of spiritual maturity. The trials confirmed God’s Love in the believer and the hope of heaven. That is why the Christian, at the end of the period of hardship, is even stronger. This is the proven royal way of the Cross, the agape road!

Don’t forget the power of hope. When a doctor tells his patient that there is no hope, he means that death is his only option. Hopelessness is a terrible burden to carry. It is proven that even if you take everything from a man, if he still retains his hope, he will make it. These are some Feelings of hopelessness (despair): depression, anger, sleep disturbances, weight fluctuations, slow in thinking, in making decisions, feelings of guilt, inferiority complexes, thoughts of suicide and unexplained physical problems (weakness, body pains, stomach pains etc).

RUTH – A WOMAN OF NOBLE CHARACTER

“And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman…. A woman of excellence… a woman of noble character” (Ru 3:11; NKJ; AMP; NIV).

Ruth is called a woman of noble character. These are just some of the reasons why: she was a true believer in Jehovah God. She was possibly Naomi’s convert to Judaism. Ruth was a pagan before she married Naomi’s son. After her husband’s death, she continued to serve Naomi. For her, Naomi was not just her mother-in-law, but her mentor in Judaism. Ruth obeyed God’s word: “The one who is taught the word [of God] is to share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his spiritual and material support]” (Gal 6:6; AMP). Ruth was faithful to her mentor unto death. Love for God and for Naomi was the only explanation why Ruth left her country, her people, her family and her gods to follow and serve Naomi in Isreal. Love is the only reason why a person can go to this extreme of faithfulness and sacrifice.

Ruth was loving, humble, teachable, obedient, respectful, hard-working, and loyal. These are all evidence of a genuine moral character. But the greatest of her attributes is her dedication to Naomi, even to the point of death. This quality is rare to find. People betray one another. They find many reasons why they should divorce, or separate. Ruth did not perform miracles. She did not organize crusades. But in her own quiet life, she shines as light in darkness. Ruth teaches us that faith and hope in God is rewarded by God. Our past is not our final destination. Choosing and doing the right thing, loving with the extra mile passion is rewarded by God. All godly relationships are God’s gifts to mankind. Ruth did not know that a chapter in the Bible will be named after her and that million of people will read and be inspired by her faithfulness. God honored her. God uses the most unlikely people to do His will.  God cares for all people, no matter the nationality, skin color or level in society. Men and women are equal before God. None is unimportant before God. God uses little things and little people to achieve great things for His glory! Love and Faith make the difference. It pays to serve God and man. It pays to build up a godly testimony. God rewards that! “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD bestows grace and favor and honor; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps 84:11; AMP). The sun is a symbol of light and life. The shield is protection. God bestows Grace and Honor. God gives spiritual and natural blessings, earthly and heavenly rewards to those who are upright in character. God will not withdraw any good blessing from His children. This promise encourages believers to pay the price for spiritual maturity and godly character.

Ruth was declared to be kind by Naomi and Boaz. She loved Jehovah more than her natural family. She was determined to find and serve God. Not even Orpah’s going back or Naomi’s pleading changed her mind. Naomi failed the test of affliction. She blamed God for her troubles and became bitter. She was supposed to rejoice in her hardship, but she did not. Ruth passed the test of affliction. She did not become bitter. She served a backslider with a joyful heart. Ruth obeyed God’s promises that said: “God makes a home for the lonely; He leads the prisoners into prosperity, Only the stubborn and rebellious dwell in a parched land” (Ps 68:6; AMP). “And I will bless (do good for, benefit) those who bless you, And I will curse [that is, subject to My wrath and judgment] the one who curses (despises, dishonors, has contempt for) you. And in you all the families (nations) of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3:AMP). Worship the Lord!