“. . .but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:4-5)
These words of Paul give us the great news that through the work of Christ we now have peace with God. This is the essence of God’s grace: Christ died to justify us, to make us righteous before the Father so that we may be saved from God’s justice and escape His wrath against sin.
But although we know we are justified by God’s action in and through Christ we often have difficulty appropriating, understanding or believing it, especially when we are in the midst of suffering. When we suffer our first reaction should be to run to Jesus in prayer for wisdom, strength, comfort, and relief. Our suffering, as Paul tells us, is for a purpose, to produce endurance and hope. We who are in Christ suffer the same pains and aches that all humans suffer. The difference is that our suffering produces godliness so that we can be certain that our suffering is never in vain. It is used by God for His glory and to build us up into the image of Christ.
Those who have no faith in Jesus have no real hope in the midst of suffering. What we realize as believers then is the great blessing that has been bestowed on us by the Lord God Almighty: grace and mercy through faith in Jesus. We delight so much in this great truth that we cannot help but share God’s grace with others so that they may know the truth, repent of sin, and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ who has bought us reconciliation with His own blood.