“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access
by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
ROMANS 5:1-5
I had the immense privilege of getting to “interview” Maria Speare this Sunday! Not only is she a powerhouse woman, wife and mom, she is the Executive Director of NeighbourLink North York and a great friend.
As we prepared together for our time of sharing, one of the major themes that kept surfacing was the awesome way God uses our stories to prepare and equip us for the future. When Maria’s family first arrived in Canada and she was growing up in a community housing neighbourhood… she never would have imagined that the struggles and difficulties she faced would prepare her to reach children, youth, seniors and adults in similar situations!
And yet, God has been using her current role at NeighbourLink to redeem and bring further healing to some of the past traumas she experienced herself!
One of the ways we can build and strengthen Patient Endurance in our own lives, is by reminding ourselves that the God we worship and serve is the God who is continually working to reconcile all things to himself through Christ Jesus (Colossians 1).
God is faithful and proves to be worthy of our trust time and time again. No matter how challenging our circumstances may be, when we choose to place our hope and trust in Jesus, our hope is safe.
Can you imagine if we were always able to remember that hope in Jesus will never put us to shame?!
“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 5:5)
Because God is faithful and has promised to redeem all things… we get to have true, genuine hope. Which, in return, is something we get to share with those around us!