Coffee is a highly delicious drink that comes from a variety of coffees grown in diverse climates all over the world. Beyond this there is a whole process where coffee beans get roasted and depending on how this process is approached, it will bring out different flavors and complexities from within the bean itself. Then there are a variety of ways you could brew your cup of coffee. To me, one of those delicious methods is brewing a shot of espresso.
In my opinion, Espresso is some of the smoothest, richest and tastiest coffee in the whole world. But to get that extremely amazing cup, the coffee must be ground really finely, then it undergoes a process by which it is pressed down (a process known as “tamping”) and then near boiling hot water is forced under pressure through the coffee grounds. Only then do you get one of the finest products from within the world of coffee. It is one of the richest coffees because it undergoes one of the most grueling and intense processes.
It is only through the process of extreme pressure and hardship that we get such a smooth, rich, delicious coffee. In the same way, I believe God seeks to bring out the richest, smoothest and finest character traits from within us as Christians. Paul writes, “…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” (Romans 5:3b-4) It is only in our sufferings that we know that God is producing and bringing out the finest qualities from within us. These characteristics are things like our ability to withstand pressure, to endure in spite of being pressed down, it is the ability to have strong integrity of character no matter what.
But ultimately God is attempting to bring out the characteristic of hope from within us. We are later told that “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5) It is only through the filter of hope, that we can receive God’s love. Interestingly, Paul later reminds us that “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24b-25) We do not see God’s love. We sometimes question whether or not it is real or if we imagined the whole thing. But we have hope for what we do not see. This allows us to tap into our integrity of character and patiently endure while we await for the manifestation of that hope.
So be of good cheer my friends. Let us rejoice in our sufferings. Why? Because these sufferings are brewing within us character traits that we need to be rich in. The long-suffering ability to endure under pressure and persevere through the hard times. The character of honesty, integrity, patience, kindness, respect and other deep-seeded roots to produce the traits of the Spirit. Then lastly, the ability to hope, to see, long for and look forward to what you do not yet have. So my friend, how might God be using the current struggles you are facing be producing in you endurance, character and hope?