HOPE! A POINT OF VIEW!

 

"We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3,4. (NKJV).

“I don’t understand, Grandfather. Why do we have troubles?”

“There was once an old violin maker. His violins made the sweetest music you ever heard.”

“Did he have a special type of wood?” 

“You could say that. His fellow violin makers envied him and begged to know why his violins differed from theirs. He finally shared his secret.

"When selecting wood for his violins, he didn’t go into the protected valleys but combed the rugged mountain to get trees anchored securely due to the fierce storms. The weather-beaten ones held a quality of beauty and tone.”

“That makes a difference?”

“It does. Like me, I don’t learn when the days are filled with sunshine. It’s during the storms I need hope.

"Like the old violin maker, our Heavenly Father knows the storms of life which He allows, will cause my roots to go deep in Him. When I'm hurting, I turn to Him--like a child who's happy when all is well. But when he gets hurt, he runs to his mother. She lifts him and whispers words of love and comfort.”

“I never thought of it like that.”

“Remember the Lord Jesus is in the process of building our character and hope. He promises to love us and never leave us, no matter how difficult the storm."

“But I don’t feel He’s there.”

“Ah, Timmy. Point of view, son. We look at the storm's swirling clouds and ferocious teeth, not the One who’s using it for our good.”

"So. I change my point of view? Look to Jesus and not my problems?"

"Absolutely, son. Always." He hugged his grandson.

Kingdom Thinking. Knowing our Lord Jesus is there during the tribulations (storms), allows me to learn perseverance which produces character which produces Hope. Do you need hope? Perhaps you need to change your point of view.