Part 1: There is so much that could be said about these verses. We might start by asking, "Do we rejoice in our suffering?" Probably the expected answer from a western Christian is "NO!" I will let you think of reasons why that might be so. Paul says, "We rejoice in our sufferings" and then gives a reason why. From experience he knows that "suffering produces endurance". Why is endurance so important, so valuable, to result in rejoicing? From a western context we might miss an important application here. Under persecution for ones faith there is always the chance one might not be able to endure the pain or be willing to pay the price required and deny their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and bring them great shame. Each time we endure suffering we gain more endurance for future suffering. Suffering through trials is God's way to produce endurance in his children to prepare them to be able to stand in the face of future persecution against their faith.
We will continue this next time.
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