Tethered to Faith
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:2-5
Some days knock us flat like a Manny Pacquiao straight left. We all have those days that just start dark and go darker. On days like that, I think of Bono’s words in “Until the End of the World”: “In my dream I was drowning my sorrows, but my sorrows, they learned to swim.” Sorrows are resilient like that, aren’t they? Just when you think you have the buggers beat, another wave hits you.
In the husks of a man’s life stripped bare by trial, we discover the essence of his character. Consider Joseph, unjustly tossed into a pit, later a prison, yet each dark place became a proving ground for divine character forged in adversity. Or the Apostle Paul. Rome wasn’t kind to its prisoners, yet Paul writes from within its confines, boasting in sufferings that yield an unshakeable character rooted in hope.
God’s man, your identity is recast in the fires of life’s trials. The passage in Romans 5 above paints a vivid picture of this transformation, where persecution births perseverance, and steadfastness redefines our core, kindling an unfading hope. The principle here is the redemptive power of suffering when tethered to faith. What do our struggles produce? The world sees defeat; we see divine craftsmanship at work.
Our practice is to wear our trials as badges of honor, knowing they polish us into Christ’s likeness. When suffering knocks, let us respond with a resilience that confounds the onlooker and glorifies our God. It’s not pain for pain’s sake but growth toward a steadfast anchor of hope that will not let us drift away (Hebrews 6:19). Stand firm, then, in your newfound identity, not as victims of circumstance, but victors in Christ.
Father, shape our character through every trial, that our hope in You may be unbreakable and our identity in Christ unequivocal.
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U2, Adam Clayton / Dave Evans / Larry Mullen / Paul David Hewson. Until the End of the World lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group