Joy In Tribulation
(quoting J.W. McGarvey on Rom. 5)
More than that, 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, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5 ESV)
"...the joy of the believer is not confined to this expectation of future good; he rejoices also in present [problems], even in tribulation, because tribulation develops in him those elements of character which make him useful here, and prepare him for heaven hereafter; for tribulation teaches him that patience and steadfastness which endures without flinching, and this steadfastness wakens in him a sense of divine approval, and the thought that God approves adds to his hope that he shall obtain the blessings of the future world..." – J.W. McGarvey
By Warren E. Berkley
The Final Page
From Expository Files 18.7; July 2011
