Faith in Times of Discomfort - Lent 2020
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Read Ecclesiastes 7 & Romans 5
Ecclesiastes 7 seems contrary to normal thought:
The day of death better than the day of birth...
Better to go to a house of mourning than a house of feasting...
Sorrow is better than laughter...
While this chapter can be used to teach many lessons, in these days of Lent, we see the suffering of our daily lives shaping us into the people God created us to be.
Romans 5:3-4 says:
We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Suffering produces hope, in the light of Jesus. The idea is: hard times test us. Our endurance, as we struggle through, proves the genuineness of our faith; and our approved faithfulness strengthens hope.
If we are never tested, how can we realize how strong we are in Christ? We don't seek out suffering, but when it shows up on our doorstep, we can see it for what it is - future hope and a chance to put our faith in Jesus.