Have you ever been reading the Bible and thought to yourself, “I’m not sure if I like that verse. I’m not sure if I like what I’m reading here. God, are you sure?” I know that I’ve had that experience. Frequently. There are passages of Scripture that are challenging. There are sections that I read and after having read them I feel a little beat up, a little worse for wear, and I don’t always like reading those verses. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of passages that don’t make me feel this way, and I’m not criticizing the Bible. There are plenty of passages that are encouraging and uplifting and inspirational, and I hold the Bible to be God-breathed. But, every once in a while, I read or re-read a section or a couple of verses, and they cause me to pause, to question, to evaluate and ask, “Seriously?”
Don’t believe me? Let me share part of one with you.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials…
~ Romans 5:3a
Maybe you don’t take issue with the above verse, but I find it difficult. I find it hard. I find it challenging. I find it contrary to my natural response. I even find it contrary to what I want to do. Paul is writing this letter to the believers in Rome, and he says that when problems and trials come, we can rejoice. Rejoice? About problems? No thank you. I prefer deliverance and resolution as quickly as possible. Problems come? FIX IT! Get it resolved. Trials? Let’s figure out how we can end this thing. The sooner the better. Rejoicing when they arrive? Not so much, and yet, this is what is in Scripture, this is the Word of God. I have to address this verse, this concept, even if it is hard.
I’m not going to lie. This is a tough passage for me. I don’t like it. I wish that it said, “We can escape when we run into problems and trials.” At minimum, I’d settle for “We can complain when we run into problems and trials.” But that’s not what Paul says. Instead, he says “We can rejoice…” At problems. At trials. Let me think about that again for a moment…Nope. Still don’t like it. Rejoice at victory? Yes. Rejoice at birthdays? Yes. Rejoice at being able to fit an entire cream filled donut into my mouth? Yes. Rejoice at problems? No. At trials? No. Or as some other translations say, rejoice at suffering? No thank you.
It seems like Paul and I have a disagreement. Paul says “rejoice”. I say “avoid, resolve, or complain.” So who’s right and who has the problem? Does the problem lie with me, or is it with Paul? (Please say Paul. Please say Paul. Please say Paul.)
Coincidentally, right in the middle of writing this devotional, I stepped away from the computer for a bit. During that time I happened to read in James. Let me tell you what he said.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds… ~James 1:2
Seriously? What are the chances? Are you kidding me here? It’s like God arranged this circumstances to make an even better point. (Don’t you just love it when your coincidences are arranged by God? I do.) I had not planned to read that verse. I didn’t remember that James began in that way, and yet, when I opened my Bible to read James, there it was “Consider it pure joy…when you face trials…” Uh oh. Now Paul and James are on the same page, teaming up against me! Maybe James has the same problem as Paul. They can’t both be right! Can they? That would mean that I’m the one with the problem.
Ok. Ok. It’s obviously my issue. The problem lies with me. The problem is mine, and that is why I have a hard time with the verse (and the one in James too!). They point to a problem within me.
You see, I want to escape problems. I want a hassle-free life. I want to avoid trials and hardships and anything that would cause me a moments discomfort. If I can’t avoid problems, then my second preference would be quick resolutions. Problems come, problems solved. 5 minutes max. If that doesn’t work, then I at least want my third preference, the right to moan and whine and complain. Option 1: No Problems. Option 2: Fast Solutions. Option 3: Free License to Complain. It turns out, my options stink. My preferences in dealing with problems are actually the problem.
Paul and James knew something better, they had an option that was higher than mine. They had it figured out. Not only could they manage in their trials, in their suffering, but they could rejoice. As hard as it seems and as contrary to my nature that this is, I’m the one with the issue. I need to change.
But how?
If we back up a little bit in Romans to verses 1 & 2, Paul says this:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Paul indicates that he has been “justified through faith.” It’s one of those “churchy” sayings that can lose meaning, but let’s remember what Paul is talking about here. Paul is saying that he has been made right with God, that his sins have been forgiven, that he has been made clean, that he has been restored in his relationship with God, that he has been “justified”. How has this happened? It was not by his works, not by his merit, not because he has earned anything, but only because he has put his faith, his hope, his trust, his life in Jesus Christ. Jesus made it possible for Paul to gain access to the grace of God. Jesus made it possible for Paul to be counted as a son of the Heavenly Father. Jesus made it possible for Paul’s sin and stains to be washed away. So Paul could “boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Because of Jesus, Paul could boast about what God had done for him. Not only could Paul do that in the good times, but as verse 3 continued, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials…”
Paul had put his sufferings in light of what he had been given in Jesus, and it was no comparison. Paul recognized his weakness, his faults, his flaws. Paul knew his guilt, and he understood that he had no business being “made right” with God. He hadn’t earned it. He didn’t deserve it. He wasn’t owed God’s grace or favor. And yet, he was given the greatest gift that he could ever imagine. So, even when he faced problems and trials, he could rejoice.
Not only that, but Paul also knew a side benefit. Trials and problems produce results. Listen to how he continues in verses 3-5:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 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.
- Problems help us develop endurance, or perseverance, the ability to last, to stick with it.
- Endurance develops strength of character, makes us better people, more like Jesus, the kind of people that I want to be, the kind of people I hope that you want to be as well.
- Character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. As we become more like Jesus, more like the person we were created to be, we can have confident hope that we will be saved, that we will enter into God’s glory, that the present sufferings won’t last.
- This confident hope does not disappoint. It’s not just wishful thinking. It will come to pass. How do we know this? Because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. God has already given us God’s very presence, a gift like no other and a sign of what is yet to come.
Paul (and James… and others. Yes, there are even more verses in the Bible that say same thing!) could rejoice in suffering because they saw the larger picture. They recognized what they had already been given through Jesus, that they did not deserve the grace that they received, the life that they had been offered. But not only that, they also knew that suffering, that problems, that trials produced results. They produced endurance and strength of character and an increased hope of salvation and a reminder that they had already been given the Holy Spirit. So, even though they didn’t seek out a trial, when one came, they could rejoice.
Friends, I don’t necessarily like it, it won’t necessarily be easy, but I need for this to be my response to difficulties, to trials, to suffering as well. I need to have this be my outlook. When problems arise, I need to be more like Paul, to have them in the larger context of my life, including what I have been given through Jesus and what can be gained through endurance. How about you? Can you have this mind as well? Can you ask God to enable you to rejoice, even in difficulties?
Even now, we are asked to endure, we are asked to persevere, we are asked to continue to face trials and hardships.
The Bishop has written a letter to the pastors within the conference indicating that United Methodist Churches will not be re-opened for public, in-person worship until June 1 at the earliest. Not only that, but our county must be in the “green” zone according to the state of PA in order for us to be able to gather together. At minimum, we’re asked to hold off our gatherings for 4 more Sundays. We’re asked to persevere. It’s a challenging request. It’s a difficult proposition, but it remains.
The larger challenge…how will we respond? How will we respond to not being in church? Beyond that, how will we respond to the limitations within our lives that are impacting our way of living, our livelihood, our friends, our families? How will we respond to the continued threat of hardship, of trials, of difficulty, of suffering?
My hope is that somehow, by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit will work within us and we will be able to respond like Paul, that we will rejoice…even in times of trial, even now. It’s time to rejoice. Personally, I need God’s help in this response, but I am confident that he will continue to work within me (Philippians 1:6). May God continue to work within me, within us, to make us more like his Son, Jesus for God’s sake and Glory. Amen.
~ Pastor Chris
