When you go through challenges, you learn. God gives you the strength to endure. Once you have made it through some difficulties, you recognize that God has provided endurance that sustains you. You have learned the incredible lesson from the Apostle Paul in Romans 5:3-4, “We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God’s approval, and his approval creates hope” (GNT).
When you are faced with challenges, you put them in divine perspective: “God will get me through this, just as before.” Your troubles produce endurance. Your endurance, in turn, brings God’s approval. Why? Because, as you look to God for strength and courage, your faith and trust in Him are affirmed.
When you look to God in your troubles, you are celebrating the reality that you are a branch connected to the Vine. You are not a liberated branch doing your own thing. You are fused to Jesus Christ. You know you need His strength to endure. That pleases God. It honors God.
Endurance reflects the power of God. It demonstrates your faith in Him to those around you—who watch you go through your troubles. Your endurance brings God’s approval. His approval creates hope.
Hope for the future is contagious. Your friends catch it and encounter the living God. This is the miracle of spiritual multiplication. You have learned an amazing spiritual lesson. God doesn’t just work in you. He also works through you.
Dr. Kent R. Hunter is the founder of Church Doctor Ministries, now led by Dr. Tracee J. Swank. Kent is the author of several books, including Life Beyond Ordinary: Invest Yourself in Significance.