They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Ez. 37:11

Sad words Ezechiel wrote. Have you ever felt that way? All dried up? Without hope or future? When everything seems to go very wrong? Rom 5:3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. When all hope seems to fail, what is Paul saying? He says that lasting hope is product of suffering. Shortly put. So Paul said he gloried in his sufferings for through them God builds character and in the end hope. Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. So be patient in affliction and trust the hand of the potter. - Often, when I have pain, I am searching some fault within me, something hidden in me, that produces this suffering. Paul does not say so. He says: If the suffering is undeserved, glory in it and trust God. His Spirit is the only hope that will not fail.