rejoice in our sufferings?

the past couple days have been spent working on the man's house whom i spoke about in my last entry. the illinois team, who have been working on the house, have finished painting the exterior of the house (which is what i've been helping with) and hanging the dry wall in his house. the man now has at least a much more comfortable and prettier place to live.

last night, we had wednesday night service...pastor don spoke on romans, chapter five. the passage he focused on really spoke to me. it said:

"we rejoice in our sufferings, 

knowing that suffering produces endurance, 

and endurance produces character, 

and character produces hope, 

and hope does not put us to shame" 

-romans 5:3-5

often times, when we go through times of suffering, our faith is tested. some people lean on God entirely when they suffer hardship, but many Christians turn from God and blame him for the devastation in their life...they get angry and confused with him. their faith may become unstable or they lose it completely. they avoid his refuge and comfort in these difficult times. instead of giving him their burdens and struggles, they carry it all on their own and dont allow the Lord to help them. they are so angry and hurt at God that they dont realize that if they just turn to him instead of turning away from him then everything will be so much easier for them. they will be able to heal faster and eventually come out stronger, which is what this passage is saying.

if we push through our sufferings and not give up on our faith, then it will make us stronger and strengthen our character. from enduring our hardships and staying faithful to God, our faith will be even more stronger than before the storm. we will find hope in this and the next time we go through a tough time, we know that we will survive it because with God on our side, anything is possible :)

i've known people who have turned away from God in their times of pain and hurt, but i've also known people who have turned to God and who could not have survived without his help. the first way to go will make healing harder and take longer...the second way will make healing go faster and make your faith stronger.

so, obviously we wont be joyful during our sufferings, but after the fact, we should realize that their was a reason for the pain we endured. the reason was to improve our character and strengthen our faith. we must find joy in that :)