Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3–4 NIV
Have you seen a bumper sticker that reads “Freedom isn’t free”? This proclamation is referring to the brave men and women serving our country in the military, but the same sentiment applies to us who desire to mature in Christ and experience more spiritual and emotional freedom.
Bible teacher Beth Moore has experienced freedom at a cost firsthand. When someone asked her how she gained the maturity and victory she currently has in life, she thought about it for a moment and then responded, “Disaster.”
It seems like an upside-down way of looking at life, doesn’t it? Trouble ultimately produces hope. Suffering leads to greater character. Disaster leads to maturity. Attacks from Satan lead to strength. Why? Because freedom isn’t free. It’s typically paid for and bought with pain, problems, and crises that make us want to throw up our hands and scream.
So what should our response be? We rejoice. How is it possible to rejoice in our sufferings? We must have the confident hope that something good is coming from our turmoil. We must choose to believe that a greater freedom is on its way, not in spite of the troubles we’re experiencing but because of them.
Lord, even though it’s difficult sometimes, help me to remember that the trials I face are providing for me a greater freedom when I submit to You. Amen.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2017 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Shana Schutte.