And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Romans 5:3
My uncle tossed several dozen bales of hay into the back of his old red pickup truck, as many as he could get loaded onto it, and we made our way up the bumpy road to the blueberry plains on Higgins Mountain. When we reached his fields, my uncle climbed onto the back of his truck, and he tossed those hay bales onto a large pile of bales beside an old barn. He explained to me how he and others were going to spread that hay about the field and set it afire in a few days. He said the blueberry crop depended on being burned like that every other year, because the plants needed an acidic soil and the nutrients from the burnt hay in order to thrive. Like many others, I had no idea that the blueberries needed this kind of treatment in order to produce a good crop. Many other types of crops also require special treatment, and particular types of soil in order to grow well. Many Christians also have no idea that in order to grow the fruit of patience in our lives, we need the envionment of tribulation.
The apostle Paul is not the only one to remind us that we can appreciate our trials because of the patience that they produce. James 1:2 and 3 tell us the same: ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.’ Now, I am sure that both Paul and James would be quick to tell you that they didn’t enjoy trials and tribulations any more than any of the rest of us do. Paul’s body was heavily scarred from the terrible abuse he had to endure as the apostle to the Gentiles. Every one of his wounds was just as painful to him as it would have been to us. But he could see beyond the pain and discomfort and reproach to what it would produce in his life. That is why Paul and Silas could lift up their voices in song in the Philippian jail even as the blood from their lashed backs had barely ceased to flow. Where the normal response of men would be to snarl back in rage and cursing, those missionaries sang praises and gladly shared the Gospel with their fellow prisoners and with the jailor. When Paul spoke of glorying in tribulation, he knew by painful experience what he was talking about.
The word that is translated ‘patience’ in our text carries the meaning of perseverence or endurance. Smiths who forge knives know that they must heat the blades to a high temperature before they are quenched in order to obtain a sharp edge that will stand up in hard use. After the quench, they use a file to test the edge; if the file ‘skates’ across the edge without biting into the steel, they know they gave their blade the proper heat treatment. It’s the same with Chrisians who are able to endure the rough treatment and keep on smiling, we know they have endured the fires of God’s testing and have obtained His patience.
I don’t believe God expects us to keep grinning like a mule eating a thistle when the trials and tribulations are painful and heavy. But if we endure the trial, He will give us something to smile about, even rejoice in: the patience that will be so precious to us and to Him. -Jim MacIntosh