Thanksgiving 2019 - Hard Leads To Hope

It's easy to be thankful for the good things in our life, but what about the difficult things?  1 Thess. 5:18 reminds us we should give thanks in ALL circumstances.  This is a HARD thing!  Turning to Romans 5:1-5, Paul explains how this is possible.  Paul tells us that "...we also rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope.  This is echoed by James 1:2-4 which says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." and again in Hebrews 12:5, 10-11, "Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him...He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." So suffering leads to hope.  But where do we find our hope?  If we place our hope in worldly, temporal things like health, possessions, finances, locations, relationships or situations, we are bound to be disappointed, but if our hope is placed in Jesus Christ, it is a hope that does not wear out (it lasts), it does not disappoint, but it truly satisfies.  Illustrations of this working out in real life are Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) or contemporary singer/songwriter, Laura Story.