Suffering and Hope
Suffering and Hope If you are a praying person you deal with suffering and hope. Often that hope is in the ending of suffering. We see ending suffering as Jesus being glorified. And He is when His will and ways are manifest on the earth, and in our lives. But in the passage from Romans that follows Paul is exulting in our tribulations. In the midst of what we are in. Circumstances play a huge role in our joy and happiness. In the life and teaching of Paul, circumstances matter greatly, but not so much when it comes to joy, rejoicing, gladness, and thanksgiving. Paul seems to live in a different kind of world. Once in which all things work for the good. Not the good of the individual, but for the good and glory of God. And while many will argue that the good of the individual is considered, that seems not to be the emphasis of Paul. Paul seems to say over and over that our lives are good when they glorify God, even through loss, suffering, persecution, pain, or weak...