Romans 5:2-6, Tribulation = patience = experience = hope

There are some things that don’t seem like they are a benefit to you when you are going through them, in fact they are painful. As a child I could remember hating to take certain medicine because of the nasty tasty taste and side effects they would cause. We all dreaded the instant we knew that a shot was going to have to be administered to deliver a medication. When these things where administered to me as I child, I couldn’t see any benefit to adding to my sorrows by taking the meds or receiving the shot and they didn’t give instant relief. The seemed to make things worse for a while but eventually they began to turn things around in my body and they help me heal and overcome my sickness. There are things in life that occur and the moment we are going through them we can’t see how they will possibly ever benefit us, but Paul says in these verses that they will turn in a believer’s favor. He says tribulation will build the Godly character of patience, patience will lead to experience in life, and experience give us hope that removes our shame.
James said something similar in James chapter 1 when he says that we should be joyful when troubles come our way because it is perfecting us and teaching us patience. It is one thing to say it, but it is another thing to do in our lives and I believe that in our family God has showed this to be true. God has had a way of turning tragic and trying moments into experiences where we have learned to trust in Him and help lead others through similar circumstances. We have learned that our hope is never to be placed in the people or things of this world and that we always place it firmly in God’s hands. We may not have seen how we would benefit from the pain we found ourselves in, but God has always used it as away for us to grow closer to Him.