Affliction → Endurance → Proven Character → HOPE
- Jessamyn Anderson
- Oct 27, 2015
- 2 min read
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
The Oxford dictionary defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” We all have hopes and dreams, and we pray for certain things to happen, things that are positive and beautiful and truly good. But when we pray for these things to happen, where are we placing our hope? Are we putting our hope in others, in ourselves, in the world around us? As we are told by St. Paul in Romans 5, we must place our hope in God. That is the only hope that does not disappoint.
This concept has been and will continue to be a daily challenge for me. Several months ago, I experienced major disappointment and hurt from a situation in my life. I was incredibly hopeful for the outcome that I wanted, but that was the problem: I was hopeful for what I wanted. I was placing hope in myself and in the other person involved, and I was not placing my hope in God. By placing hope in myself, someone who was angry and confused and hurting at the time, I was bound to be disappointed. This disappointment gave me a bitter view on what had been my favorite passage in the Bible for a long time. I remember being angry in prayer, saying, “God, you told me that hope does not disappoint because Your love has been poured out into my heart! I was hopeful, and now I’m disappointed. Why would you lie to me like this?” Looking back, I can almost picture God sitting in heaven, letting me throw very weak punches at Him and shaking his Head at my twisted view of some of the most beautiful words (in my humble opinion) in the Bible.
My twisted view also derived from my narrow view of a line in this Bible passage. I was so focused on verse 5 that I ignored the rest of the passage, which explains how hope in God is produced. Here’s the basic breakdown:
Affliction → Endurance → Proven Character → Hope
I was afflicted by heartbreak and hurt, and the
hope that was produced did not arise from endurance or proven character, which means that the hope I had was not being placed in Christ. It was derived from frail human desire and, frankly, sin. And because of that, I could not experience peace or boast in hope of the glory of God. As I’ve worked through the pain of that situation, I’ve gained much more endurance and proven character, and I’m beginning to place my hope in God. This isn’t an easy thing to do, and as I mentioned, it is something that continues to challenge me. But if what I’m hoping for is true happiness, love, and peace, why wouldn’t I turn to God? He’s the only one that can give me all of those things, and that is something to be hopeful about.
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