Extract taken from ‘The Word For Today’ for Weds May 10th 06
‘…Troubles Produce Patience. And Patience Produces Character…’ Romans 5: 3-4 NCV
Storms come for a reason. They also come for a season. Discover the reason and grow wiser. Outlast the season and grow stronger; but never quit! Chuck Swindoll writes: ‘Somebody needs to address the other side of Christian life, if for no other reason than to uphold reality. We need to be told that difficulty and pressure are par-for-the-course. No amount of Biblical input, deeper life conference or super-victory seminars will exempt you from struggle.
God promises no bubble of protection. Ask Job, Joseph, Daniel and Paul, and you’ll become acquainted with an ancient word that has almost disappeared in this generation of splashy, always-grinning, a-miracle-a-day spirituality – perseverance! I know of no better partner to dance with when you’re doing the three-steps-forward and two-steps-back number. It’s in the tough times that true character is forged, the life of Christ is reproduced in us, and our flimsy theology is exchanged for a set of convictions that enable us to handle things rather than trying to escape them.
It’s when the bottom falls out and life tries to pound you into a corner of doubt and unbelief, that you need what perseverance produces: a) a willingness to accept whatever comes, knowing that by God’s grace you’ll win and come out stronger b) a determination to stand firm while those around you are falling or running away c) insight to see the character-developing hand of God in it all. Without that, we stumble and fall and God is grieved. With it, we survive and conquer and God is glorified.’ Can you think of one quitter, just one, who ever accomplished anything worthwhile?
Excerpt from THE WORD FOR TODAY, UCB (United Christian Broadcasters), PO Box 255, Stoke-On-Trent, ST4 8YY, England. Free issues of the daily devotional are available for the UK and Republic of Ireland.
