Romans 5:1-3, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
Exercising our faith in Christ is a life-long necessity and learning experience. Even though we have been made right in God’s sight – justified by our faith in Christ positionally, we keep growing in our faith, which is called progressive sanctification, which is a continuous process throughout our lifetime.
Paul always had hope. He never had uncertainty in his faith in Christ despite being put in jail unjustly. The words “problems and trials” are used in the NLT. The ESV uses the word “sufferings.” The NKJV uses the word “tribulations.” Regardless, this doesn’t refer to minor inconveniences. Paul knew this better than anyone. Problems and tribulations fall on both the saved and unsaved (Matt. 5:45). So perhaps God wants to teach us how to be a light before our co-workers, friends, or family when we are undergoing these situations.
“Most every Christian wants to develop character and have more hope. These qualities spring out of perseverance, which comes through tribulation. We may wish to have better character and more hope without starting with tribulation, but that isn’t God’s pattern and plan.” Blue Letter Bible Commentary. David Guzik. Don’t we all wish God would just sprinkle us with character, hope, and perseverance? But that is not how it works. It takes a deep awareness of God’s love for us, which will then give us hope when undergoing trials, as He is doing His finishing work on us (process of progressive sanctification). Paul was a prime example as he very well knew about difficulties.
“Tribulations” or thlipsis in Greek, means “crushings” – a word that describes the process of crushing an olive with heavy rocks in order to extract oil. Paul says we glory not only in what we’re going to be, or who we are positionally, but also in the tribulations which happen constantly.” Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, page 912. It is during those times I realize I am nothing. How about you? At Gethsemane, Jesus Christ experienced “thlipsis” – crushing – the place of the olive press when He sweat significant drops of blood for our sins and submitted to God the Father (Matthew 20:39-42) on the cross. What has God been extracting in your life recently? Think about that the next time you reach for that bottle of olive oil and relate it to your character, hope, and perseverance being developed by our holy and just and loving God for greater purposes you don’t even know about right now. He knows the whole story. Trust Him.
Listen to Mix – Hallelujah, (Official Music Video) – Charly Perry.