Category Archives: Tribulations

Bible, Character, Perseverance, Proven, Scripture, Trials, Tribulations

THE REST OF THE STORY

ROMANS 5:4

“and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;”

Have you ever read a good book and stopped short of the finish? Why would you do that? Why not see how it ends? I love to read, but I don’t do it enough. I have a couple of favorite Christian fiction authors that keep me riveted. I could read their stuff all the time. When I finish their latest book, I am looking forward to the next one. But I have never stopped short of the finish.

Today’s verse gives us the next part of the story that Paul began way back in 5:1. Yesterday’s verse was kind of the cliffhanger. He told us to celebrate tribulations because it brings perseverance. Today Paul goes further into proven character and then right back to hope. The Greek word dokimé is translated as “proven character” here. It can mean proof, ordeal, proven worth or test also. The word implies character that is built through testing. That’s what God does in our lives.

APPLICATION

We see dokimé used in 2 Corinthians 8:2. Let’s back up to 8:1 to get the context (that’s always important). “1 Now, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.” Here dokimé is translated “ordeal.” But look what it produced – abundance of joy and wealth of liberality.

In Philippians 2:22 Paul uses dokimé to describe Timothy whom he was sending to the church there. Paul says that Timothy had proven himself loyal to the gospel by serving alongside him on those arduous missionary journeys. Surely, Timothy suffered with Paul. Surely, Timothy was in great danger many times himself.

Are you proven? Have you gone through the fires of trials in your life and come out on the other side proven by God. I can tell you there is no feeling like it. Coming out of a hard time knowing that it was Jesus Who carried you through is lifechanging. He hardens you to other trials you face. He prepares you through adversity to face life’s challenges. Yes, there is more to the story in each of our lives. How will you choose to face them?

Lord God, You are always faithful to see me through the hard times through which you prepare me for my future journeys.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Hope, Rejoicing, Scripture, Trials, Tribulations

ARE YOU SUFFERING?

ROMANS 5:3

“And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;”

If you ever hear someone say they celebrate tribulations, you will probably call someone to pick them up for a psych evaluation. We just don’t think that way, especially when we are in the midst of a hard time. We complain, whine and bellyache to anyone who will listen. We could be singing that old Hee Haw song, “Doom, Despair and Agony on me.”

So, when Paul writes that we should rejoice (same word used in 5:2) in tribulations just like we rejoice in hope, that sounds kind of crazy. Who in their right mind celebrates the hard times? Remember who is writing this. Paul had seen his fair share of hard times, hadn’t he? I want to share Paul’s list of sufferings for you to understand that he knew what he was talking about. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 Paul says, “23 Are they servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”

APPLICATION

How does your hard times compare to that? And through all that Paul can still write “celebrate in our tribulations.” That Greek word translated “tribulations” could be translated “between a rock and a hard place.” It’s the Greek word thlipsis. Often when you go through these hard times you feel there is no escape. You begin to lose hope. But Paul says to celebrate them the same way you celebrate hope.

I’ve been through some hard times in my life, emotionally and physically. I have learned that you have to choose to rejoice in them only because you believe in the end result. As Paul says, they “bring about perseverance.” Isn’t that a good thing? We all want to persevere, but we don’t want to go through the stuff that builds it.

We will see in tomorrow’s verse that Paul will come back full circle to hope. Let me encourage you to go ahead and take a look at 5:4. I don’t want to leave you hanging here on tribulations. They have their purpose. Otherwise, God would not allow His children to go through them. See you tomorrow.

Father, I praise You for the trials that come my way that build perseverance into me.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Distress, Eternity, Hell, Punishment, Scripture, Trials, Tribulations

ONE SIZE FITS ALL

ROMANS 2:9

“There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of mankind who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek,”

I have never trusted those “one size fits all” products. There is no way one size fits every person. For instance, gloves are sometimes sold that way. I have fairly normal size hands. But I have been given some gloves in the past that read “one size fits all” and they just didn’t. I could get them on but then I couldn’t move my fingers. However, in God’s economy of restitution, this is true. He shows no partiality. Let’s see what Paul says today about this.

In verse 9 Paul says, “there will be tribulation and distress for every soul.” The Greek word for “every” is pas, and it means “every.” How about that? That’s deep, huh? Lol. Seriously, this word means “all, any, every, the whole.” It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, if you are disobedient and refuse to honor God and His commandments, you will face His wrath through “tribulation and distress.”

APPLICATION

What is this “tribulation and distress”? The Expositor’s Greek Testament says this about these words. “θλίψις (thlipsis) and στενοχωρία (stenochoria), according to Trench, Synonyms, § 55, express very nearly the same thing, under different images: the former taking the image of pressure, the latter that of confinement in a narrow space.” These two words are basically synonymous. The latter only occurs three other times in the New Testament (Romans 8:35, 2 Corinthians 6:4; 12:10).

To put these terms in everyday language, it’s like being between a rock and a hard place. There is no escape. You can feel the crushing pressure. God’s wrath will come. One commentator I read said these words are “expressive of the second death, the torments of hell, the worm that never dies, and the fire that is not quenched.” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible). That’s a scary picture.

But…there is a mode of escape from these punishments. His name is Jesus. He can give us freedom from this eternal punishment if we will only accept the free gift of salvation which He offers to every man, woman, boy and girl on planet earth. Will you share this good news with someone today? Will you be the one who leads them to the One who can provide this salvation and the escape from eternal punishment?

O Lord, lead me to someone today who needs to hear the Good News.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Character, Proven, Scripture, Testing, Trials, Tribulations

PROVEN CHARACTER

PHILIPPIANS 2:22

“But you know of his proven character, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.”

I like compliments. Don’t you? A sincere compliment is always appreciated. They make you feel better about yourself. Knowing someone has recognized you in that way gives you a sense of confidence. When I receive compliments, I try to be quick to give all the glory to the Lord. I know I am nothing without Him in my life, and He deserves all the credit.

Paul is bragging on Timothy here in today’s verse. He uses a word that is used eight times in the New Testament, seven by him. The word is dokime which the Topical Lexicon describes this way. “The concept of dokime is integral to understanding the Christian journey, as it illustrates the process by which believers are refined and their faith is authenticated through trials. It serves as a reminder that challenges are not merely obstacles but opportunities for growth and deeper reliance on God.” Obviously, Timothy had proven his worth to Paul over the years, thus he was entrusted with this journey to Philippi.

APPLICATION

In Romans 5:4 we see dokime used by Paul. Let’s back up to verse 3 to get a better picture of how Paul uses this word. “3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;” In these verses, Paul is describing the process and purpose of tribulations and trials in our life. Going through these builds our character.

Recently, I talked to the mother of someone who is going through a stem cell transplant. I was asked to talk to her by a mutual friend. I basically described my own two experiences of my stem cell transplants and how God used them to grow my faith and hopefully my character. Trials are hard, but we know God tests us to build us. That is what I told this mom to share with her daughter.

In 2 Corinthians 8:2 dokime is translated as “ordeal.” Paul says there, “that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.” Have you gone through an ordeal? Consider it God’s way of making you more like His Son. Amen? Hang in there. Prove faithful, just like Timothy.

Lord, I do not like trials. I had rather avoid them, but You want to use them to make me more like You. For that reason, I will embrace them as they come.

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Affliction, Bible, Distress, Scripture, Tribulations

CAUSING ME DISTRESS

PHILIPPIANS 1:17

“the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.”

Have you ever been “between a rock and a hard place”? Do you know what I mean? There seems to be pressure mounting from every side. There is no escape. I have experienced that a few times in my life. Let me just say – I did not enjoy it! Lol. People were clamoring for things to be done. I had family responsibilities. One thing after another was demanding my time, and I had no help. (or so I thought)

Why am I talking about that? Because Paul uses a word today that could be described in that fashion. The word “distress” is the Greek word thlipsis, which Strong’s Lexicon describes this way. It “is used in the New Testament to describe a state of severe distress or suffering, often due to external pressures or persecution. It conveys the idea of being under pressure or in a state of affliction, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.” Paul had the pressure of imprisonment and these “no-gooders” were trying to take advantage of the situation, hoping to hurt Paul even more.

APPLICATION

Thlipsis is used in Mark 4:17 to describe the afflictions that come upon the seed sown in the rocky soil. We know what happened there, don’t we? The seed could not survive. Neither can you if you remain there. We need nourishment. We need watering. I am planting a couple of new shrubs in our yard right now. The soil is not the most favorable. It’s hard and clay like. I had to dig a larger than necessary hole to make sure there was enough room for the roots of that plant to survive. I had to go deep. Hmmm, that might just apply to us, don’t you think?

In Romans 5:3-4, Paul gives us an interesting take on this word, thlipsis. “3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;” Paul actually has the nerve to say tribulations (thlipsis) can produce something good. How dare he! Lol.

I know in my life, that has been true. It takes a lot of pressure and time to produce a diamond, doesn’t it? God allows this distress, these tribulations in our lives to make us into His diamonds, His precious gems. He loves you enough to allow that. When we learn to embrace it, like Paul, we will begin to see the benefits.

O Lord, it’s hard to say “Thank You” for the tribulations of life, but I trust You know how best to make me into what You want me to be.

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