Funny how life works sometimes. This being only the 5th day of the new year, most people have jumped into their new beginnings. The reflecting of 2021 is over. I thought I was done reflecting and thinking about all that God has shown me in 2021, but after reading Romans 5 it all came flooding back. The struggles, the endless down time and the time I got to spend with Jesus and in His Word.
I wrote in a previous post Trials and Suffering about my endless injuries and sufferings in 2021 (broken wrist, snapped tendon surgery, tooth problems, broken ankle, and then my husband had an unexpected surgery near the end of December). These injuries kept me in my favorite chair for weeks on end and kept drawing me back to Jesus.
I have a basket full of prescriptions I was given over the past year to relieve my pain. My body is so sensitive it does not respond very well to medicine, I always suffer the side affects X2!! But the suffering caused me to persevere. The perseverance pushed me further to rely on God and helped me discover that I am who He says I am. I have always read the scriptures and sang the songs of who God says I am. But, sadly I never really believed it. I still had the worldly view of who I am or who I am supposed to be.
I operated out of my worth. I was worthy if I looked a certain way, if I was busy with a job, if I kept my house perfectly, if my kids were successful, etc. It was all outward appearances that gave me a sense of self-confidence. I especially felt good about myself when someone gave me a compliment or a pat on the back. When I was not at my best, when I was slacking, maybe not keeping up with my house or my workouts or when I slipped up, my confidence went down the tubes real fast. I would fall in a slump thinking only the worst of myself. I am sad to say that for 52 years I operated like this. Yes, I read the Bible and listened to pastors and speakers tell me the opposite. But it was only in this last year through my suffering that Jesus got my full attention and got to tell me who I was! After all the weeks of being home bound it sunk in!! I AM WHO HE SAYS I AM!!
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
The Greek word for suffering is translated as “tribulation, something that causes distress.” These sufferings can range from minor things that we face every day, to major disasters that we never see coming.
According to Romans 5, our response to suffering is to rejoice. What? Seriously? Do you think I rejoiced in September when I found out that my ankle was actually broken and not just sprained from a stupid fall that I took? No! I cried! And I cried! And then, I turned back to Jesus. Knowing that He is in control and has a plan for my life. I knew that He was using this time for a reason.
Now reflecting back on all the suffering of 2021 I know that my suffering produced perseverance and character. I no longer look to what other people think of me. Or if I do (of course I am not perfect and still falter all the time), I quickly turn my thoughts back to who God says I am. I have a new confidence that only comes from Him.
We can rejoice in suffering because we know. We rejoice because we know something. It isn’t that we rejoice because it feels good to be hurt, it is because we know something about it. It is our faith that enables us to know. Our faith is like inside information that others do not know or share.
We know this because the Bible tells us so. Paul says, “Knowing that suffering produces…” Suffering produces something, it accomplishes something. It is productive. We know it works and that is what makes us rejoice. Suffering produces something worthwhile.
In the verses above, Paul tells us that suffering produces three things: perseverance (patience), character, and hope. The hope is that we will share the glory of God. We have the hope that God is producing the image of Christ in us. We are being changed through our suffering. We are becoming more like Jesus. He is using our suffering to transform us into the image of his Son.
Life is a funny thing. Looking to 2022, I sure hope I am finished facing the injuries and sufferings of last year. But I also know what was accomplished through these sufferings. I am so thankful for the hard year and the love that Christ showed me. He knew how badly I needed to learn who I am – only based on who He says I am!
Be Blessed and Be Thankful for your sufferings in 2022.