Torch, Winter 1991

's - er1n character and leave us wi th hope. The progression that occurs in this passage is worth noting. Suffering--persever– ance--character--hope. We live in a fa st-paced world and wan t immediate solu tions to our problems. Sometimes rm simply un able to provide quick solutions for the clients who enter my office. Hope is available, but some– times it's at the end of a rather lon g and bumpy road . So we must first learn to persevere, to bear up under a heavy load , to keep goi ng when every fiber of our being cries out, "Give up." Perseverance is hard work and submission all roll ed up into one. Perseverance doesn ·t have a lot of glamour. Ifs not a very exciting character quality. Never have I had a client walk into my office saying. "Help me. I would really like to learn to persevere." Yet, it is in the soil of perseverance that character best grows. The more we demand immediate answers and instant relief, the Jess we are able to let th e process of suffering do its work and the less we are ab le to hope. by Carl Ruby • Suffering deepens our appreciation for God 's Word. The psalmist wisely refl ected , "Before T was affli cted, I went astray , bu t now I obey Your Word... .Jt was good for me to be affl icted. so that I might learn Your decrees" (Psalm 119:67,71). God 's Word takes on new meaning when we are forced to cling to it. I remember all too clearly how our hopes were dashed the evening of my wife's rni scaniage. This first child had been long awa ited. That ni ght , after cryi ng. pray ing. and fa iling to sleep. r took my