"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope." Romans 5: 3-4
What a beautiful end result. Hope.
Not just endurance. Which is necessary to living.
Not just character. Which is admirable.
But hope. Something to hold onto. To wrap my heart around. To wrap around my heart. To dig into. To taste. To cling to as life rushes and eddies and buffets. Hope. Hope produced in me. Through the sufferings which are part of this life. Through my suffering I may rejoice. For I know Hope and His Name is Jesus. I am lead by Hope, the gift God has given, the gift of Hope, the Holy Spirit who indwells me. I am filled and sealed with Hope. I may rejoice, even though I have not yet seen.
"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled wth an inexpressible and glorious joy!" I Peter 1:8
Joy inexpressible. Joy unexplainable. Joy that fills.
Joy that lives in tension with my melancholy. The finite shell of me, the Infinite Who lives within me. And in this tension there is beauty. There is depth. A realness tugs at my soul. A deep sense of the fragile here and now.
{betsy :: red and green. light and dark. joy and heartache. everything feels fragile.}
(I love to read over at habit, and a few days ago - the particular picture and post above just stopped me and joined my thoughts about Hope.)
I am filled with a longing to live every day with endurance. To live every situation with a strong character. To live every moment with hope. To share the hope that I have in as many tangible ways with as many people as I possibly can. For even when nothing makes sense, there is Hope, there is joy. And I will live in and live out this joyful hope.
May you be filled with hope and joy today, my friends.
Love, E