Romans 5:3-4
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:”
In the beginning years of my marriage, my wife and I traveled by vehicle to our destinations. Before we started a trip, we always took out the atlas to determine the best highways to take to get us to our destination. We knew the destination before we started, but we didn’t know the highway we wanted to travel. After studying the map for a short period of time, we always chose the highway that would get us to our destination as quickly and safely as possible.
Everything has a destination. What most people fail to look at is the destination that their highway is leading to. People often choose a way of life without looking at the destination or where it will take them. It is important that before choosing the highway on which to travel that you know the destination.
In the verses above, God shows us that our destination is hope. You will find that the highway to hope is not truly pleasant, but there is no other way to get there unless you travel that highway. There are waymarks along this highway that will help you in life, but you must go through them if you desire to have hope in life.
The first waymark on the highway to hope is tribulations. When you start going through tribulations, always remember that their destination is hope. Tribulations are certainly not pleasant to endure, but you cannot get to hope without going through tribulation. Tribulations are on the highway to hope. When sickness, financial struggle, job insecurity and battles come, it is simply a waymark on the highway to hope. If you want to have hope in life, then you must go through tribulations to get there.
The second waymark on the highway to hope is patience. The tribulations you endure work your patience. Have you ever heard someone say, “You’re trying my patience”? They are saying that their patience is being stretched to its limit. When traveling the highway to hope, you will find the tribulations you endure will stretch your patience, but they will never go beyond what you can endure. God promised in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that He would not place more on us than we can bear. The tribulations you’re enduring may work your patience to the limits, but they will never go beyond what you can endure. It is all part of traveling the highway to hope.
The third waymark on the highway to hope is experience. When your patience is being tried, you must go to experience to find out how to get to hope. This experience can either come from personal experience, or many times it is going to those who have the experience to teach you to endure what you are facing. The experience you can gain from those who have been through what you are facing is immense. You must not ignore their experience. Using the experience of others to help you go through your tribulation is wise. You cannot get to hope without traveling through the waymark of experience.
The destination of all of these waymarks is hope. When traveling the highway to hope, you must go through each of these waymarks before you can get to hope. Friend, hope is what gives you the faith that whatever you are going through is going to get better. Without hope, you will quit. Yet, you cannot get to hope without traveling through tribulation, having your patience tried and getting the experience you need to help you get to the destination of hope. God promises if you will get to hope, you will never be ashamed that you trusted Him. Let me encourage you not to quit on your highway to hope. The waymarks may not be pleasant, but you will find God’s presence when you get to the destination of hope.