Romans 5:3-4

In the past several weeks we have been bombarded with the devastation and destruction of hurricane Katrina. The images are everywhere. I know that many of us have cried, prayed and donated time and money or both to help the victims. At one point I was watching TV and it was the anniversary of 9/11 along with the images of the hurricane. It was overwhelming to take it all in. Even as I write this there is another storm approaching. The more images I watch the more I think about faith, how tragedy reminds us of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. This week what I want us to focus on is how Jesus understands suffering and tragedy. My verse for the day that I have emailed to me was Romans 5:3-4, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” We have all read that verse many times or are familiar with it in some way. Many times we cringe when we hear it because we know there is some sort of suffering involved. Today the verse struck me differently. The first word that is impacting in the verse is suffering and then it ends with hope. Maybe our suffering produces hope? That is what I have observed in the face of crisis and suffering. It brings forth hope. When you consider the refugees of the hurricane what else do they have? With homes destroyed, family missing and the familiar way of life gone what is left? Hope. I pray that today no matter what tragedy you are going thorough you will hang on to the hope in Jesus Christ.

Lori