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. And hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
HOPE > CIRCUMSTANCES
“The heaviness we are feeling is probably not about the circumstance we are facing, but from our own beliefs about God and life.” Backlund
The above is one of the more pregnant quotes I have read or posted in years.
So hang with me as I unpack some truths that expose our natural and carnal tendencies to live by the flesh instead of by His Spirit that brings life and knowledge of the Father's perfect love for us.
Are you allowing your circumstances to mold you, or are you allowing the Potter to mold you, the clay?
Are you responding to the feelings that arise from your circumstances, or are you responding to what your loving Father leads you to believe about Him?
Are your life experiences forming your faith and beliefs about your life, or are you allowing your Heavenly Father to bring heaven into your heart to live a life that brings hope to you and those He wants to bless through you?
Our hopelessness about a problem is a bigger problem than the problem.
In Romans, the progression is sufferings-perseverance-character-hope.
Hope trumps the “problem.”
May your hope be in Christ alone: His Love, grace, glory, and beauty.
He is your object of faith and your faithful Hope.
How have you allowed circumstances to be your god?
How might your circumstances lead to a more excellent character?
Rejoice now in the victory from a current tribulation.
May God, our true Father, release upon your lives the riches of his kind favor and heavenly peace through the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. Colossians 1:2