Romans 5:1-5: in context

Having declared that we are justified by faith and have peace with God, Paul says something surprising about suffering. Not only do we rejoice in the hope of glory, he writes, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Paul finds a reason to rejoice even in suffering, not in the suffering itself, but in what God works through it.

Paul's claim that we can rejoice in our sufferings needs careful understanding. He does not say suffering is pleasant, or that we rejoice because we enjoy it; suffering is hard, and Paul knew this better than most. He says we rejoice in suffering knowing what it produces, because of the good God works through it. Suffering, borne in faith, produces perseverance, endurance under trial; perseverance produces proven character, a character tested and refined; and proven character produces hope, a hope that does not disappoint. Paul rejoices not in the suffering itself but in this chain, in what God brings out of the suffering, the endurance, character, and hope it works. This reframes how we can regard our own sufferings. We naturally regard suffering as simply bad, something to be endured or escaped, with no good in it. But Paul reveals that God works through our sufferings to produce things of great worth: endurance, tested character, and a hope that does not disappoint. The suffering, borne in faith, is not wasted or meaningless; God is working through it to produce good that could not come otherwise. Count it all joy, James says, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. There is a joy possible even in suffering, not because suffering is good in itself, but because of what God works through it. This does not minimize the reality of suffering or demand a false cheerfulness. Paul does not pretend suffering is not hard; he calls it suffering. But he holds it within the knowledge that God is working through it, producing endurance, character, and hope, so that even in suffering there is reason to rejoice, in what God brings out of it. Our light affliction, Paul says elsewhere, works for us an eternal weight of glory; God is producing something of surpassing worth through what we suffer. This calls us to rejoice in our sufferings, not for their own sake but for what God works through them. Paul rejoiced in suffering knowing it produces perseverance, character, and hope; and we too may hold our sufferings within this knowledge, that God is working through them to produce good, so that we rejoice not in the suffering itself but in what he brings out of it. And this rests on a sure foundation: hope does not disappoint, because God's love is poured into our hearts by the Spirit. The God who works through our suffering loves us, and his love, poured into our hearts, assures us that the hope he produces will not disappoint. Let us, then, rejoice even in suffering, trusting the God who works through it to produce endurance, character, and a hope that does not disappoint.

Do I regard my sufferings as simply bad, meaningless things to be endured or escaped, or can Paul's teaching that suffering produces perseverance, character, and a hope that does not disappoint move me to rejoice even in suffering, not for its own sake but for what God works through it, holding my sufferings within the knowledge that God is producing good out of them, and trusting the God whose love, poured into my heart, assures me that the hope he works will not disappoint?