Daily Lesson for June 23, 2022

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Romans chapter 5 verses 3-5:

And not only that, but we* also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us . . .

How do we hold our hope in times like these?

That is a question many have asked me, and I keep coming back to the answer in this verse.

We often think of hope as something we always have with us from the outset. But, in fact, St. Paul says that hope is the reward for resilience. Hope is what comes after the suffering and endurance that forge our character. Its in the crucible of character that hope is born.

So, in that sense, hope is not something we lose, but something we earn. It's found at the end of our rope. It's the gift that is given to those who hold on.

T.S. Eliot wrote, "I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope."

For those struggling and even suffering without hope today, I pray you will hold on and wait until it comes, even if it only appears at the very, very end . . .

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.