When we experience the peace that comes in knowing God delights in us, we have a place to stand for facing all life’s adversities. We can find strength in knowing God’s love for us. Paul describes our strength in an interesting sequence, a kind of upward spiral: suffering, endurance, character, and hope. With the peace and strength of God’s love, our problems become pathways rather than pitfalls.

When Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl was a prisoner of war, he observed his own suffering and the suffering of those around him. In his book published in English as Man’s Search for Meaning, he recorded that those who fared best in the midst of suffering were those who did not lose hope—an observation very close to what Paul says in today’s reading.

The most mature people of faith I know have grown in ways that include “going against the odds.” They do not wear their suffering on their sleeve, but they carry it in their heart. Because they know God delights in them, they continue to have hope in the midst of problems and pains.

Paul says this hope is not theoretical; it is concrete in real-life situations. It is not superficial or fleeting; it is deep and abiding because “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”