“Not only that, but 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
I have seen and studied this verse before to gain an understanding of what suffering will do for us in the long run and why we should rejoice in our sufferings. It’s not the suffering itself we rejoice in, but it’s what that suffering brings about in us. The endurance which produces our character which produces our hope. But there is an aspect to this passage that I think I had missed before today. We also can rejoice in our sufferings which leads us to hope BECAUSE of the love from God that is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
We can feel God’s love in our hearts because we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. That may not seem like a profound thought to you. Maybe it’s just my simple mind but think about it. Have you ever felt peace in a situation, or power in a situation or even hope in a situation that you couldn’t really explain? Have you ever felt loved in a situation that you really couldn’t explain? The explanation is the Holy Spirit. He is working in and through us and He is what pours Gods love into our hearts.
I was talking with someone very close to me just last night who was so overwhelmed by what God is doing in their life and all we could do was sit in awe of the answered prayers. I don’t know why we do that, why do we sit in awe of God answering our prayers when we know that is who He is and what He does. I think it’s because it brings us to reality of how much He truly does love us. When we recognize God for who He is and we cultivate our relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, is when we truly begin to realize how God pours his love into our hearts. This is not to say every answer will come exactly how we think it will come. But truthfully when I leave some of these things completely to God and I don’t ask for something to work out specifically, is when He answers me in a way that blows me away. I do believe in asking for some specifics, but I also believe there are times when we just ask God to BE GOD in the situation and handle it, because He will do it so much better than I can think or imagine.
And my friends that is just one of the ways that I truly feel His love pouring into my heart. And when I feel His love pouring into me, I can’t help but want to pour His love out of me and to love Him more, and to love His people more! It is through the love that God pours into my heart that I can love His people, that I can love even unlovable people. We live in a broken world that needs God’s love and God can love even the unlovable people any way He chooses, but He chooses to love this dark world through His people. I believe that God pours His love into us so that we will pour out His love. So that a dark, lonely, broken world can SEE HIM.
Today, I am going to ask God to show me someone who needs to see His love. I am going to ask the Holy Spirit to pour so much of God’s love into me that it will spill out of me onto people who need to see Him. Won’t you do the same?
Restore 