Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - July 18, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Embracing Hardship
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.
—Romans 5:3
The apostle Paul did not merely endure his hardships. He gloried in them. The meaning of the word “tribulation” that Paul used in Romans 5:3 comes from a term that describes a threshing instrument in which a farmer would separate the grain from the husks. It is the idea of being under pressure, such as squeezing olives in a press to extract the oil, squeezing grapes for their juice, or pounding garlic to release its aroma. Through the pounding process, something comes out that was not known before. In the same way, our lives can be pounded out on the threshing floor of tribulation.
Paul made a choice about his hardships. He said he gloried in tribulation because it produced something he needed. We have a choice as well. We can become bitter. Or we can become better.
Like it or not, tribulation will come into our lives. Scripture is clear on that. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The apostles encouraged the believers in Acts 14 to continue in the faith, saying that through much tribulation they must enter the kingdom of God (see Acts 14:22). And Philippians 1:29 says, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”
When hard times come, you can either get mad at God, or you can try to learn what He wants to teach you. It is a choice. Hardships will come, but how you react to them is entirely up to you.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.
Copyright © 2007 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions,
