Persevere

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 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 5:1-5

My kids recently discovered a seed from a Monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant. We brought it inside and carefully kept up a steady supply of milkweed for the hungry caterpillar that emerged. Not too long afterward, it crawled up the enclosure we put it in and wrapped itself up in a cocoon. When it emerged, there was a great struggle. I stepped in to assist the butterfly and inadvertently caused more harm than good. The fight to come out of the cocoon is necessary to develop the strength to fly. In the same way, a man’s suffering is productive and necessary.

Think about your natural reaction to suffering. In most cases, men will avoid suffering and miss out on its rewards. Retraining the mind to embrace suffering, specifically suffering as a result of godly obedience, is a productive endeavor. Jesus obediently embraced the cross with joy because He knew what it would accomplish. See the bigger picture and let the discomfort of suffering do its work in developing your character.

DO THIS TODAY: Respond with joy to suffering.