The hope we have in God

Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

The Apostles tells us that not only can we rejoice in the good times, but we can learn to rejoice in times of problems and trails. For the problems and trials we face today can build us up as we trust God to see us through those issues. In doing so we also build upon our hope of salvation seeing that our faith in God does not lead to disappointment, but to the hope a better future. For God had placed the Holy Spirit within our hearts to speak to us and to speak to God for us in love.

An interviewer for the New York Times Magazine ran the following story about the faith of talk show host and comedian Stephen Colbert:

In 1974, when Colbert was 10, his father, a doctor, and his brothers Peter and Paul, the two closest to him in age, died in a plane crash while flying to a prep school in New England. "There's a common explanation that profound sadness leads to someone's becoming a comedian, but I'm not sure that's a proven equation in my case," he told me. "I'm not bitter about what happened to me as a child, and my mother was instrumental in keeping me from being so." He added, in a tone so humble and sincere that his character would never have used it: "She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed, and that's directly related to the image of Christ on the cross and the example of sacrifice that he gave us. What she taught me is that the deliverance God offers you from pain is not no pain— it's that the pain is actually a gift. What's the option? God doesn't really give you another choice." [Charles McGrath, "How Many Stephen Colberts Are There?" The New York Times Magazine (1-4-12)]

We know from The Bible Job himself suffered pain and devastating emotional effects from the loss of property, friends and family. Yet Job kept his faith in God. The last two verses from the Book of Job say, “Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.” Job’s life was full because he saw through the pain to see the hope of The Lord. Ask this question, “Am I looking at my pain or am I looking at the hope God has in store for me?”