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Paul writes in Romans:
> “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
> And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
> And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
> — Romans 5:3–5 (KJV)
And again:
> “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
> And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
> — Romans 8:16–17 (KJV)
The theme is very clear: rejoicing in suffering. Not enduring it with gritted teeth. Not resigning ourselves to it with fatalism. But rejoicing.
The lyrics you have before you simply echo this divine logic:
The key is in those two phrases: “we can rejoice” and “for we know.”
Rejoicing is not rooted in our feelings, but in what we know by revelation from the Word of God.
The question before us is:
How can a believer honestly, without hypocrisy, rejoice in “problems and trials”?
Scripture gives us a clear, logical, Spirit-inspired answer.
---
Romans is Paul’s most systematic exposition of the gospel. By chapter 5, he has already established:
1. All have sinned and are under judgment (Romans 1–3).
2. Justification is by faith alone, not by works of the Law (Romans 3–4).
3. We now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).
In Romans 5:1–5, Paul is not addressing unbelievers or casual inquirers. He is speaking to justified believers who have:
Now, he explains what this new standing produces in real life. Not in an ideal world, but in a fallen world marked by suffering.
### The immediate context of Romans 5:3–5
Paul moves logically:
The phrase “and not only so” (v.3) is critical. Paul is saying:
“We do not only rejoice in the future glory. We rejoice also in present trouble.”
Why? Because for Paul, suffering is not an interruption to God’s plan. It is a critical element of God’s process.
### The context of Romans 8:16–17
Romans 8 is the summit of the epistle. It describes life in the Spirit.
In other words:
So when Paul speaks of “rejoicing in problems and trials,” he is not describing something peripheral. He is describing a mark of authentic sonship and a central part of the pathway to glory.
---
To understand Paul’s logic, two Greek words are particularly important:
1. “Tribulations” in Romans 5:3
2. “Hope maketh not ashamed” (or “will not disappoint”) in Romans 5:5
### 1. “Tribulations” — *thlipsis* (θλῖψις)
Paul says:
> “We glory in tribulations also…” (Romans 5:3)
The Greek word is θλῖψις (*thlipsis*).
It literally means: pressure, compression, being hemmed in, affliction.
It is used in the New Testament for:
In other words, tribulation is not a minor inconvenience. It is pressure—spiritual, emotional, physical, relational, or circumstantial.
So the lyric:
> “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials”
accurately represents Paul’s meaning. *Thlipsis* covers “problems and trials” of many kinds. This is not theory. It is the normal environment of Christian discipleship.
### 2. “Hope will not lead to disappointment” — *elpis* and *kataischynō*
Paul writes:
> “And hope maketh not ashamed…” (Romans 5:5, KJV)
> or
> “This hope does not disappoint…” (NASB)
Two words here:
Not a vague wish, but confident expectation of good, grounded in the promises of God.
Means: to put to shame, to disgrace, to expose as foolish or false.
So Paul’s statement is this:
> The confident expectation produced by God’s process in us will never be exposed as foolish, deceptive, or empty.
The lyric:
> “And this hope will not lead to disappointment”
conveys that meaning. God’s process in suffering produces a hope that will never collapse, never shame the one who held it, never be exposed as a delusion.
Why not?
Because it rests not on our strength, but on something God has done within us:
> “…because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost…” (Romans 5:5)
“Shed abroad” is ἐκχέω (*ekcheō*): poured out, spilled forth abundantly, not a drop, but an outpouring.
So the sequence is this:
---
Let us now connect the lyrics, line by line, to Scripture.
### A. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials…”
Paul commands something similar elsewhere:
> “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”
> — Philippians 4:4
> “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
> Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
> — James 1:2–3
Notice:
This is a consistent New Testament pattern.
The call is not to enjoy pain, but to rejoice in what God is doing through it.
The reason is always the same: “for we know…”
### B. “For we know that they help us develop endurance.”
Romans 5:3:
> “…knowing that tribulation worketh patience…”
“Patience” here is ὑπομονή (*hypomonē*) — often better translated endurance or steadfastness.
It means:
Suffering, for the believer submitted to God, is productive. It is not random. It “works” something in us. The verb “worketh” (κατεργάζεται, *katergazetai*) means to bring about, to accomplish, to effect thoroughly.
So every time a believer faces *thlipsis* (pressure) in faith, that pressure is acting like divine resistance training. It is building spiritual “muscle” — endurance.
This is essential in spiritual warfare.
God does not entrust serious spiritual responsibility to unstable, easily shaken people. Endurance is a foundational qualification.
### C. “And endurance develops strength of character…”
Romans 5:4:
> “And patience, experience…”
“Experience” is δοκιμή (*dokimē*).
It comes from a root meaning tested, approved, proven by trial.
The idea is this:
Endurance under pressure produces approved character—the kind of character that has been tested in the furnace and found genuine.
We are not speaking here of superficial religious behavior, but of inner reality, proven in adversity.
So the process is:
1. Pressure.
2. Endurance under pressure.
3. Endurance produces proven, tested character.
Many believers desire God to use them, to entrust them with power, gifts, and influence. But God’s pattern is consistent: before public use comes private testing.
### D. “And character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
Romans 5:4:
> “…and experience, hope.”
Once character has been tested and approved, the result is hope—that confident expectation that God will complete what He started.
Why does proven character produce hope?
Because when you have walked through:
you come to know, in a deep and personal way, that God is committed to you.
Philippians 1:6:
> “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it…”
Tested character knows this, not as a doctrine only, but as a lived reality.
So, the lyric:
> “And character strengthens our confident hope of salvation”
is perfectly aligned with Paul. God uses suffering to ground us in a hope that is not fragile, but solid.
### E. “And this hope will not lead to disappointment.”
Romans 5:5:
> “And hope maketh not ashamed…”
This is a crucial statement. There are many false hopes in the world. There are even religious hopes that will ultimately bring shame to those who held them.
But the hope Paul describes is different. It is:
How do we know this hope will never leave us exposed as foolish?
> “…because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5)
This is not our love for God, but God’s love for us, poured into our inner being.
So we could paraphrase:
> “The confident expectation that God will glorify us will never collapse or shame us, because God Himself, by His Spirit, has given us an internal, experiential assurance of His love.”
Now connect this to Romans 8:16–17:
> “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
> And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
Here again:
So the Spirit does two things:
1. Pours the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
2. Bears witness that we are God’s children and heirs (Romans 8:16–17).
This double work of the Spirit guarantees that the hope formed in suffering will never disappoint.
### F. “For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
This lyric is essentially Romans 5:5 in simple language:
> “For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
The proof of God’s love is twofold in Romans 5:
1. Historical, objective proof:
2. Experiential, subjective proof:
Both are essential:
So when we say, “We know how dearly God loves us,” we are not speaking sentimentally. We are speaking of:
This is what enables genuine rejoicing in suffering. We are not rejoicing in pain itself. We are rejoicing in:
### G. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials.” (Outro)
The repetition is important. Paul also repeats the theme:
Affliction works for us when we respond in faith. That is why we can say, and keep saying, “We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials.”
---
Rejoicing in suffering is not automatic. It is a choice of faith, grounded in revelation. Here are four practical steps.
### 1. Align your thinking with God’s process
First, we must renew our minds to accept God’s process as revealed in Romans 5:3–5:
> Tribulation → Endurance → Proven Character → Hope → No Shame
You can turn this into a personal proclamation:
> “Lord, I accept Your process. I declare that every pressure You permit in my life, as I trust You, will work endurance, proven character, and a hope that will never disappoint.”
Refuse the lie that suffering means God has abandoned you.
Instead, confront it with truth:
> “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth…” (Hebrews 12:6)
> “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)
### 2. Respond to pressure with endurance, not escape
Second, we must choose endurance, not flight.
Our natural reaction under pressure is often:
But *hypomonē* (endurance) means staying under the pressure in the will of God, trusting His character.
A simple practical step:
“Lord, I choose to remain under this pressure in Your will, until Your purpose is accomplished in me.”
Ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to endure, rather than merely survive.
### 3. Agree with God about your identity in suffering
Third, we must see suffering as part of our identity as children and heirs.
Romans 8:16–17 shows:
So when trials come, instead of saying, “Why me?” begin to say:
> “This confirms that I am a child of God and a joint-heir with Christ. I am sharing His sufferings now, and I will share His glory.”
This is not psychological self-help. It is aligning your confession with God’s own Word about you.
### 4. Cultivate the witness of the Spirit in your heart
Fourth, we must cultivate a life in the Spirit where His inward witness is strong.
Romans 5:5 and 8:16 both involve the Spirit’s inner work:
Practically, this means:
When you sense fear, rejection, or abandonment rising in a trial, consciously:
You can pray:
> “Holy Spirit, pour the love of the Father afresh into my heart. Strengthen the witness in me that I am His child and heir, even in this trial.”
---
### Proclamation
Speak this aloud, thoughtfully and deliberately:
> I have been justified by faith, and I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ.
> I stand in the grace of God, and I rejoice in the hope of His glory.
> I also rejoice in problems and trials,
> knowing that pressure is working endurance in me,
> endurance is producing proven character,
> and proven character is giving me a confident hope.
> This hope will never put me to shame,
> because the love of God has been poured out in my heart
> by the Holy Spirit who has been given to me.
> The Spirit Himself bears witness with my spirit that I am a child of God.
> As a child, I am an heir — an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ.
> I choose to suffer with Him in obedience now,
> that I may also be glorified with Him.
> Therefore, I will not fear, I will not complain,
> but I will rejoice in every trial,
> for God is using it to conform me to the image of His Son
> and to prepare for me an eternal weight of glory.
> This hope will not lead to disappointment.
> In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
### Prayer
Father, in the name of Jesus,
I bring before You every problem, every trial, every pressure in my life. I confess that, in myself, I do not enjoy suffering, and often I have reacted with fear, complaint, or unbelief. I ask You to forgive me for every wrong response.
I now submit myself afresh to Your Word in Romans 5 and Romans 8. By Your grace, I choose to rejoice in tribulations, not because I love pain, but because I trust Your purpose, Your process, Your presence, and Your promise.
Holy Spirit, pour the love of the Father into my heart in a fresh way. Bear witness with my spirit that I am a child of God and an heir with Christ, even in the midst of trial. Work in me true endurance. Form in me proven character. Establish in me a hope that will never disappoint.
Use every pressure the enemy meant for evil as an instrument in Your hand for my good and for Your glory. Conform me to the image of Jesus through every circumstance.
I declare that my hope is in You alone, and I will not be ashamed.
In Jesus’ mighty Name,
Amen.
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