Hope for the Tribulations of Life

Well, Pastor Kyle has been walking us through the Apostle

John's first letter, and we're getting to the end of that

letter. But don't turn there.

We're taking a break from that today, and I want us to look at

a text that has really been on my heart for a number of months,

maybe for the past year. And I've been in a season of

reflecting on God's Word for a while and seeing God's Word,

particularly as a lens through which we view all of existence,

everything, all of reality in God's Word.

God has revealed a story, and he's brought about that story.

And that story makes sense of the world, makes sense of all

reality. And to the degree that we know,

comprehend, and believe this story, we're able to view it

through our lenses. We're able to view it, interpret

it the way that he views and interprets the world.

And all of us sitting here today are somewhere on the spectrum in

in regard to grasping the story and all of its details, right?

And in turn, the world making sense to us.

But for all of us, there are experiences and circumstances in

our lives or circumstances around us that just simply don't

seem to make much sense. And one of these areas is trials

and tribulations. Now while I believe that many

Christians and many of you sitting here today can give a

basic answer as to why we as Christians go through trials and

tribulations. I also believe that many

Christians don't reach an understanding or perspection,

perception or perspective of the true purpose or the true end of

tribulations in their life. And as a result, they don't have

the opportunity to experience the fruit that God desires to

produce through those trials and tribulations.

When thinking about what God's word says about tribulations or

trials, we may recall a number of texts.

Jesus words as recorded in John 1633 that in the world we will

have tribulation, but we're to take heart.

Why? Because Jesus has overcome the

world. Peter tells us in first Peter

412 that we should not be surprised when fiery trials come

upon us to test us. It's it's not something strange

or unusual that's occurring in our lives.

A chapter later in chapter 5, verse 10, he tells us that

suffering is temporary. We have this from the language

after you have suffered for a little while.

Now, often our suffering doesn't seem temporary, doesn't seem

like it's going to last a little while.

But in actual fact, I know that matter how long it lasts, even

if it lasted the rest of our life, it is only for a little

while because God's Word says our entire life is but a vapor.

And then we have the words maybe that have already come to your

mind. From James chapter 1 verses 2 to

James 1:2–3

3. James tells the believers that

consider it all joy when they encounter various trials because

they know that the testing of their faith produces endurance.

Now he says James does encounter count it all joy when you

encounter various trials. So as you're encountering them,

you're to count it all joy. I don't often do that in my

life. Tribulation happens, trial

happens and I'm joyous doesn't happen very often in my life.

In verse 4 of chapter James chapter 1, he says endurance has

James 1 · chapter mention

a good result, the believer being made perfect and complete,

lacking in nothing. Later in verse 12 he writes that

the blessing of the one who perseveres, or for the one who

perseveres under trial is that he would receive a great reward,

the crown of life. We could go many other places in

Scripture. Jesus's words about those who

are blessed when they are persecuted and experience

afflictions for following him. We could go to the times when

the faithful rejoice in the shame they received from

preaching the gospel. We could go to Paul's statement

in Acts that through many tribulations we will enter the

Kingdom of God. We could go to 2nd Corinthians

12 where Paul says power is perfected in weakness, and

because of that Paul says he can be content in all circumstances,

even the difficult ones. But perhaps no text in Scripture

helps us view our trials in the way that God desires for us to

view them, as does Romans 5 verses 3 to 5.

Romans 5:3–5

And in this text, we're going to see that God has ordained

tribulations as the first step in a process toward godliness

and ultimately toward a hope that he wants his children to

experience. While we're going to focus on

verses 3 to 5 in that process, I want to us to read verses 1:00

to 5:00. So now that you're comfortable,

I'm going to ask you to stand and we're going to proclaim

God's words together today. Something a little bit

different, but we're going to have it on the screen and we're

going to read God's Word together.

We're going to have it on the screen and read there we go.

It worked the second time. So we're going to read His word,

read the first 5 verses together.

So let's proclaim the word of the Lord together.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have

obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which

we stand. And we exalt in the hope of the

glory of God. And not only this, but we also

exalt in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings

about perseverance and perseverance, proven character

and proven character. Hope.

And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been

poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was

given to us. This is the word of the Lord.

You may be seated. Y'all did a wonderful job.

Wasn't that beautiful to hear? I love hearing our voices praise

the Lord in song, but I love hearing our voices in unison

reading and proclaiming God's word.

In the 1st 5 chapters of the book of Romans, Paul lays the

foundation for the entire book by establishing that humanity is

is in need of salvation. And then he presents the

solution. All people he says, regardless

of their religious background, Jew and Gentile alike are

condemned by their sin and they are deserving of God's wrath.

But Despite that condemnation, the gospel or good news is the

solution. Fact.

In Romans chapter 1 he calls it the power.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

That Greek term is dunamis, which is we get the term

dynamite, for it is the power. The gospel is for salvation to

all who believe, to the Jew 1st and then the Gentile, and so he

calls it the power of God unto salvation.

This good news is that God has provided a way for us to avoid

the wrath and the condemnation that we deserve.

The way in which He's provided a solution, a way, is by giving

His Son what we just celebrated in the ordinance of the Supper.

By giving His Son as a substitute sacrifice for us, He

became sin on our behalf. He took the wrath that was

designed for us. That was that.

That was our payment for sins. And the reason he did this is in

order to save, in order to redeem, in order to the

ultimately declare us justified. He uses the term justification

to declare us righteous before God because after we place our

faith in Jesus Christ, he no longer sees Sinner.

He sees righteous because Christ's righteousness is over

us. And this declaration of

justification is available again through faith in Jesus Christ

apart from any works that one does.

Finally, this faith in Jesus results in a peace with God and

a hopeful future. And that brings us to chapter 5

and chapter 5. The therefore is the first of

three major transitional therefore's in the book of

Romans. The second one comes in Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8, where Paul there says, therefore I now urge you,

brethren, by the mercies of God, I'm sorry, I'm getting the

wrong. Therefore, therefore there there

is now no condemn. Thank you.

There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are

in Christ Jesus. The third major transitional

therefore is in Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

He says, therefore I urge you, my brethren, by the mercies of

God, to present your our bodies as living, holy, acceptable to

God, sacrifices for this is your spiritual service of worship.

We're here in verse 1 of chapter 5 that therefore serves to

transition to the result of this justification, this salvation.

His answer, his solution to our problem, to every man's problem

that he's been discussing in the 1st 4 chapters.

At the outset he states that it results with in peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ and that it should give away

verse 2 to exuberant elation, to jubilation, to joy.

He says we exalt, we rejoice, we boast in the hope of the glory

of God. There is rejoicing, there is

boasting, there is elation, there's jubilance in what God

has accomplished in his grace for the believer.

But in verse 3, in verse 3, Paul transitions to something that we

may not immediately expect or even think fits the context by

saying, and not only this, at the beginning of verse 3, not

only this, but also he adds something else in which those

who have been justified can rejoice or exalt.

And what is this additional? What is this additional object

of the Christians? Boasting or rejoicing?

Tribulations. Really Paul?

Rejoicing in tribulations. I get rejoicing and exalting in

the hope of the glory of God and what he has done for me by

saving me from death and condemnation.

But now add on to this. Not only this, but we rejoice in

tribulations. Really, Paul?

What? What exactly is Paul asking us

to do here? What is he telling us that we

should do? The word translated tribulations

or afflictions or sufferings implies pressing or pressure.

What's in view is trouble in life that causes distress,

oppression, affliction, and tribulation.

We're not talking here about minor inconveniences, although

sometimes we make our minor inconveniences into something

major. But we're not talking about

minor inconveniences. We're talking about real

hardships that press us, that pressed us down, weigh us down,

burden us heavily. And it's likely that the

majority of us sitting in this room right now are experiencing

circumstances outside of us that are pressing us, pushing us down

in various ways. Heaviness.

And if not right now, you may have just gotten out of one.

And if you haven't just gotten out of one and you're not in

right now, that would be a miracle.

But don't worry about it, because one's coming right

around the bend. I didn't hear that.

You tell me afterward. So here Paul is proclaiming that

the Christian can rejoice when these external circumstances are

pressing down on them. Troubles and sufferings and

tribulations and trials are not merely to be endured as

stoically as possible. Not showing one's feelings and

not complaining. Not complaining is good.

But that's not ultimately what Paul is interested in.

This is not about being cool under pressure.

This is not about having ice in the veins as the circumstances

press you in. It's not about letting things

just roll off your shoulder. Some people do that better than

others. Paul is not saying here that

Christians are merely to endure these difficult circumstances

which press us. They are to be glory.

Then we are to exalt in our tribulations.

We're to boast in them. We're to pride ourselves in

them. We're to rejoice in our

tribulations. But how are we to do this, Paul?

God, if you're called allowing me to do this, on what basis can

I do this? On what basis?

As trials press me down in life, on what basis can I truly exalt

and rejoice? Here's the key in the middle of

verse 3. The key to rejoicing in one's

tribulations comes here in knowing something.

This part is simple. Knowing gives the reason, the

justification, the basis for why, for how we exalt in our

tribulations, what he is saying. He's about to give a reason for

why a Christian can do this. He's about to reveal.

We can think of it like this. He's about to reveal a proper

view of tribulation and trials in the believer's life.

He's about to review how God views the tribulation and the

trial in your life and mine. And if we knew and accepted that

view, it would allow us to rejoice in the tribulations in

our life. So what is it that he says

Christians should know? What is the knowledge that leads

to rejoicing in the tribulations of my life?

As we progress in this text, we see that what he reveals is that

the basis of rejoicing in tribulations is a process.

And this process has four elements.

So 4 elements and three steps and in the necessary movement

from one element to another to another.

Note the brings about language. Each element produces the

element which follows. In fact, many of your

translations actually use the term produces here instead of

brings about, and it's this verb translated brings about or

produces that connects the process as we move from one

element to the next such that we could replace the commas with

the verb that's driving the process.

Whether your text says produce or brings about, we know that

tribulation brings about something and that something

brings about or produces something, and that something

brings about or produces something.

I have this process in your worship guide indicated by the

four arrows. And we've already noted that

what Paul is referring to in tribulations is this pressing,

pressing down, this pressure. But what we noticed when he

introduces the process is that tribulation is the first element

in the process. You're going to see the image of

a barrel press here. I chose this image to help us

think about the pressure which I talked about of tribulation.

That's the result of tribulation.

The barrel grape press presses down with a great amount of

pressure. It presses the juice out of the

grape by allowing downward that downward pressure, great

pressure to press and the juice coming out.

I guess the question for us is, do we ever feel like, do you

ever feel like you're being juiced by this life and its

circumstances? So the process is kicked off,

initiated by tribulations in my life.

This means that the process that he set up that is going to, if

we know it and believe it, is going to give us the ability to

rejoice in tribulations. The process is kicked off by

tribulations. It can't even begin without what

tribulation, which is an important thing for us to note

even before going further in the text.

The first element, Tribulation, brings about something, and

nothing that comes after that can come without the

tribulation. Now, if we didn't know what the

next element is, we do know because I, I asked for your

help. We proclaim God's word together.

We've read the text. But if you didn't know what the

next element was that is brought about by tribulation, you might

be tempted to fill in the result with many things.

I we could take a poll here and you could just popcorn it off.

Tribulation brings about sadness for me.

Tribulation brings about grief. Tribulation brings anxiety in my

life. Tribulation brings doubt.

Tribulation brings uncertainty. The trials of my life make me

angry. I do all sorts of scheming and

planning to try to get out of the tribulation when it comes.

Tribulation brings pain. Tribulation produces desperation

and hopelessness. We could go on and on, but Paul

does not say that the believer should see any of those as being

the product of tribulations. Look at what he says that

tribulation brings about perseverance.

Perseverance, patient, patient, endurance, steadfastness.

The definition of perseverance. One definition is the capacity

to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty or

tribulation. The capacity to hold up or hold

out or bear up in the face of difficulty or tribulation.

Paul says that the believer should know that tribulation

brings about or produces perseverance.

Now, you may be thinking, my tribulations don't bring about

perseverance in my life, but I think Paul's point here is to

say not that perseverance automatically comes for those

who have tribulations, but that tribulations are the occurrence.

They're the event in which perseverance can be produced,

can evidence itself or become manifest.

In other words, one cannot have patient endurance or

steadfastness without tribulations.

It's a necessary thing. You got to have tribulations.

You can't get to endurance or perseverance or endurance or

steadfastness. Remember the definition of

perseverance that I just said. It's the capacity to hold out or

bear up in the face of difficulty or tribulation.

What do you have to have for perseverance?

You got to have tribulation. Do you see that?

Perhaps there are better ways than what I have here to to

illustrate the idea of perseverance, but I chose a

clock. The reason I chose a clock is it

symbolizes the necessity of the passing of time.

What we're talking about is the passing of time during a

tribulation. It takes time.

Tribulation produces perseverance.

The third element in the process is proven character.

So tribulation, the pressing or pressure of outward

circumstances in my life, is the context in which we can learn

and exhibit perseverance, holding up in the face of

difficulty, which takes place over time and ultimately, Paul

says, brings about or produces proven character.

This phrase proven character we get from one word in the

original Greek, which connotates a testing process that has a

particular result or a particular product that follows

the testing process. What we're talking about is a

process that over time determines the genuineness or

value of something. This is why in the 1st century,

this term was quite often used in the concept or in the realm

of testing of metals to test whether they're genuine.

The image I have here is not the metal imagery, but it's it's a

reference to the phrase the proof is in the pudding.

You young people probably never heard that in your life.

The proof is in the pudding. It's a wonderful phrase, not the

least of which the reason for is because it's as its origins or

roots in in British from Britain.

Britain and I love all things British.

So but the original phrase is the proof of the pudding is in

the OK, somebody said taste. That's close.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

That's the original phrase, but the proof is in the pudding.

What does this phrase mean? The phrase means that the real

value, the quality of success of the success of something can

only be judged by seeing or experiencing or tasting.

Paul, you said tasting the final results, I don't mean to make

y'all hungry this morning, but the final results of a coach may

say the proof is in the pudding. And by that he might mean I

think I know what we got as a team.

We got a game plan. I think we're ready to go, but

the proof is in the pudding. I don't really know how genuine

we are. I don't know how good we are.

I don't know how we're going to look until we get out there and

play the game and the clock strikes 0 until the end.

See, this character cannot be faked.

It can't be promised even it can't be simulated.

This character has to be proven over time, and it's proven

through perseverance. So you have this tribulation and

you got the perseverance and, and over time, over time, you

get to proven character. If we progressed in this process

and that was the end of the process right there.

And so we're we're persevering under the trials and

tribulations in our life. We're persevering over time, and

that leads to proven character. If that was the end, I mean,

praise the Lord if we would but get to a genuineness of

character before God, so we're living out our faith in the

midst of our trials and tribulations, how wonderful that

would be. But we're not even at the final

result. We're still climbing up the

mountain here and we haven't seen the ultimate goal here of

what we're going to see at the end of the process.

We get to that end at the end of verse 4 and it's hope.

The hope was present at the end of verse 2 when Paul stated we

exalt in the hope of the glory of God, all that God has done in

saving us, in justifying us by grace through faith in his Son

Jesus Christ because of what he accomplished in him.

We rejoice and we exalt, we boast in in Christ.

We pride ourselves only in Christ.

But he puts it here at the end of the process, I think because

it's experienced in a richer and deeper way as we go through

tribulations, hope has to do with the looking forward to

something with some reason for confidence.

There's an expectation of something that's good, something

positive. There's prospect for the future,

and it's a positive prospect. But hope is not superficial

optimism about the future. It's not looking on the bright

side, if you will. It's not positive thinking, not

this kind of hope, this kind of hope that's in view here is a

confident assurance, A certainty that something good is going to

come to pass. And if we have this kind of

hope, we know that God is working in our lives to

accomplish something. We know that he not only has the

power, but he has the desire to deliver us through the

tribulation. Now it's very important you hear

what I say there. He, we know in this hope that he

has not only the power, but the desire to deliver us through the

tribulation. Notice I said through and not

from now. Utilize sort of a silly image

here for this one to illustrate hope, but it evokes a

confidence, a strength. A confidence and strength that

is the result of tested character proven over time in

the midst of trans tribulation. The important thing to note here

is that the end of the process is not, as Paul explained it,

the end of the process is not relief from the tribulation.

That's not what gives hope. It's not that tribulation is

taken away per SE, that particular tribulation or trial

that's pressing you down. It's that there is hope in the

midst of the tribulation, hope in what seemingly is a hopeless

situation. You're getting juiced by the

circumstances in your life, and while in the midst of getting

juiced, you have hope. I don't have enough time to

unpack verse 5 fully. It could be its own sermon.

But Paul speaks as to the certainty of this kind of hope,

which results from the process that he just laid out.

This kind of hope will never let the believer down.

And the simple reason is that it reveals in such a clear and

undeniable way that God loves us.

If you own this process, you will know that God loves you.

The God of the universe has flooded our hearts with his love

through the Holy Spirit that He has given us.

So now we're getting the view. Are you with me?

We're on top of the mountaintop. We're at the apex of this

process and we're looking out and it's a beautiful view.

It's a very hopeful view, and we experience a beautiful and

indescribable hope that's before us.

We know we understand to a better degree God's true love

for us, particularly through His presence in the person of the

Holy Spirit in our life as we go through this tribulation.

But we can't get there. You can't get there by asking

God to take the tribulation away.

You can't get there by not persevering over time in the

tribulation. You can't get there until you,

until proven character is produced, this hope.

It's a journey to the top of the mountain and you can't get there

in a helicopter. You got to walk through.

That's the only way to get there for the remaining of our time.

I just have some observation, some reflections.

Call these some pastoral concerns.

Not that I wasn't caring for you as a pastor for the rest of the

sermon, but these are from my heart to you as one of your

pastors, as a shepherd. Number one, this process that

we've just looked at is for believers, the process outlined

in verse, verses 3 to 4, which is the basis for rejoicing and

tribulations is only for those who also can rejoice because

they have the peace with God through Jesus Christ that he

talks about in verse one. If you're an unbeliever and

you're sitting here today, these promises regarding hope are not

for you now. They can be for you and they can

be for you today. When a moment we'll have a time

of response. If you're here today, you've

never trust in Christ. Not only can you rejoice and

exalt in the hope of the glory of God because God has saved you

and experienced that today, but you can also rejoice and exalt

in this process. That is going to be the case for

you as you encounter various trials in your life.

But tribulations in your life, if you've never trusted in

Christ, are there to lead you to depend wholly on Christ.

They're there to get you to the end of trusting in yourself or

other human beings to show you that Christ is the only answer,

and He's the answer to every one of your problems #2 perseverance

necessarily involves the passing of time.

I've already belabored this, but without hardship you don't have

perseverance and without time enduring the hardship, you can't

have perseverance. You got to withstand the

hardship for a extended period of time.

You do that by God's grace #3 God is working in the believers

tribulation. This is why Paul later on after

that second therefore in Romans chapter 8 verse one.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are

in Christ Jesus. He says in Romans 828, we know

another No, we know that God causes all things to work

together for good to those who love God and to those who are

called according to His purpose, all things, all things does all

things include tribulation and trials, all things.

And This is why Paul can say this because we know and he

knows the process to hope that we can rejoice in that.

Johnny Ardavanis is a pastor who wrote a book this past year or

maybe this year called Consider the Lilies, Finding Perfect

Peace in the Character of God. This book is about anxiety.

Primarily. It's about trusting God.

But I heard him on a podcast talk about Romans 828 and he

said something that I can't It's it's, it's branded on my brain

and I can't get it out of my brain says this.

There's nothing that God, this is for the believer.

There's nothing that God is doing for your good that's not

for his glory. And there's nothing that he's

doing for his glory that's not for your good.

I'll say it again, there's nothing that God is doing for

your good that is not for His glory, and there is nothing that

He's doing for His glory that is not for your good.

We can rejoice in the tribulation knowing that He's

working in that tribulation in our lives #4 God uses

tribulation to make us look more like Christ in Hebrews 12/1.

And two, we're told that there's that great cloud of witnesses

that have surrounded us, that they have gone before us.

And for that reason we lay aside every encumbrance and the sin

which entangles us, and we run with endurance the race set

before us. Number verse 2, Fix our eyes on

Jesus. That's what we do.

He's the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set

before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set

down at the right hand of the throne of God.

There's no better example of Jesus than Jesus Christ of the

one who's gone through this process.

He's our example and God conforms us to his image and you

know how he does that through trials and tribulations in our

lives. Romans 829 the verse after we

know God causes all things to work together for the good of

those. 11 Romans 829 says for those whom he for new, He also

predestined to be become conformed to the image of his

Son, so that we would be the first born among many brethren.

What I want to tell you is, in tribulation, God wants to

conform from you into the image of His son #5 Tribulation is

necessary for hope. I've said this already, but hope

is produced through the formation of character after

perseverance through the tribulations of life.

Earlier I mentioned that for us often tribulation brings

sadness, It brings grief, it brings anxiety, it brings doubt,

it brings uncertainty, anger, scheming pain, desperation and

the tribulations of life. We sometimes experience feelings

of utter and undeniable hopelessness, but what we see in

Romans 5 is that idea turn on its head.

For the believer should know this process, that tribulation

is necessary for us to have hope.

That brings me to #6 trivial. And this may be the most

difficult thing for us to accept.

This may be the most difficult thing you hear this morning.

Tribulation is a gift from God. To believers, Tribulation is a

gift. We should see it as a gift from

God because it is the necessary first step to proving character

and to hope. So many times in our life, as I

mentioned earlier, our hope is to escape the tribulation.

God, take the tribulation away, we ask God, I ask God to take

the tribulation away from me. I want to challenge you as I

have been challenged, that sometimes I am asking God to

take away the very thing, the very gift that He gives that He

allows to produce character and lead to hope, which is the

tribulation or the trial itself. The degree to which we strive to

avoid tribulation as much as possible, we miss to the same

degree or maybe greater, the depth of the fruit of this

process that leads to hope. Finally, rejoicing in one's

tribulations is no less expected than rejoicing in the glory of

God. I'm good with verses one to two,

Paul. I'm good to rejoice and exalt in

the glory of of God because he saved me.

But I don't like this rejoicing in tribulations.

I don't like that. No, no, Paul says.

We rejoice in both. It's a package deal.

Rejoicing in one's tribulation is no less expected from God

then rejoicing in His glory. As John and praise team come, I

invite you to respond to the word of God this morning.

I didn't say this in the first in the in the first hour because

I'm running out of time but now I don't really care.

Y'all just have to go eat. What do I care?

This is God's word. I often say that's a dangerous

thing to open God's word. It's a dangerous thing to open

God's word and study it. It's a dangerous thing to sit

under the teaching of God's Word.

You know why? Because every time God's word is

living inactive. Every time God's Word comes to

us, it demands a response. And there's only two ways to

respond, and you got to respond one of the two ways.

Everyone in here has to respond one of the two ways.

You either accept it and believe it and obey it, or you deny it,

ignore it, which is disobedience, right?

So I'm inviting you to respond this morning in one of three

ways. I might have called you 2 up too

early, John. Sorry.

One of three ways. The first one is repentance.

You may be here this morning and you've never trusted in Christ.

As I've already said. The first question in your

worship God, do I have peace with God through Jesus Christ?

If not, am I willing to step out and to trust him as my Lord and

Savior today, to trust that he died on the cross for my sin?

The second one is Thanksgiving and rejoicing.

These are just ideas, ways maybe God is calling you to respond to

his word this morning. Second question in the worship

God is if I have peace with God through Jesus, do I rejoice in

the tribulations in my life? Do you thank God for the

tribulations in your life and for this process that you have

lived out? But maybe you've never

considered it in this this way, you may have experienced the end

result hope previously through proving character over time,

persevering through a tribulation.

And maybe you just need to come and thank the Lord this morning.

Maybe that was a recent tribulation that he brought you

through. Maybe you need to just come and

rejoice. Maybe you just need to spend

some time worshiping the Lord in the next few minutes for the

tribulation that he's given you for, for this process, this gift

that he's given you. So you're rejoicing maybe in the

very tribulation that you're in right now, Man, that's the

boldest thing you could do this morning to step out and say,

God, I recognize this tribulation is pressing me.

Life's juicing me. I'm going to praise you anyway.

I'm going to praise you third, the third one, and then I'm

done. His confession.

You've trusted in Christ, but you have not or or not viewing

your tribulations the way that God views them, and you need to

tell the Lord you're sorry for that this morning.

Am I willing to see the tribulations in my life as God

sees them? I think that's the third

question, as opportunities to build character and as the

pathway up the mountain to get the beautiful, indescribable

view that doesn't make sense, that view of hope in the midst

of the tribulation. God do whatever you would do.

God do your will. It's not ours, it's yours, as we

respond to your word this morning.