The Word of the Day is Produce

Romans 5:3–4 (CEB)

“But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

Introductory Thought 

We don’t usually associate problems with pride. We associate them with stress, frustration, and late-night prayers asking, “Lord, how long?” Yet Paul boldly says we can take pride in our problems—not because pain feels good, but because pain produces something good.

In a culture obsessed with quick outcomes and visible success, we often measure growth by what we can immediately see. Promotions. Applause. Results. But God measures growth differently. God looks at what’s being produced inside of us.

Inspirational Reflection 

Trouble, Paul says, produces endurance. Endurance produces character. Character produces hope.

That’s a process.

Just like a field doesn’t yield crops overnight, our lives don’t yield maturity without seasons of cultivation. Farmers understand something we sometimes forget: before fruit appears above the ground, roots are forming below it. And roots grow in pressure, in darkness, in soil that doesn’t look glamorous.

The same is true spiritually.

That difficult conversation? It may be producing patience.

That season of waiting? It may be producing trust.

That unexpected hardship? It may be producing strength you didn’t know you had.

In our communities, our families, and our leadership roles, we often want relief more than refinement. But God is less concerned with our temporary comfort and more committed to our eternal character. God is producing something that outlasts the problem.

Endurance means you don’t quit.

Character means you don’t compromise.

Hope means you don’t collapse.

And hope, according to Scripture, does not disappoint.

If you’re walking through something heavy right now, pause before you pray it away. Ask instead: Lord, what are You producing in me through this? 

Because nothing in God’s hands is wasted. Not tears. Not setbacks. Not delays.

What feels like pressure may actually be preparation.

“God doesn’t waste pain; He produces purpose through it.”

Produce means to bring forth, to cause growth, to generate over time.

It is the divine process by which God cultivates endurance, shapes character, and anchors us in hope through life’s challenges.

Reflection Questions

1. What difficulty in my life might be producing endurance rather than just discomfort?

2. How has a past hardship shaped my character in ways ease never could?

3. What would it look like for me to trust God’s producing process instead of resisting it?

Prayer

Father,

When trouble comes, help me see beyond the surface. Strengthen me to endure what I cannot immediately change. Shape my character so that I reflect You more clearly. And anchor my heart in hope that does not disappoint. Teach me to trust what You are producing in me, even when I cannot yet see the fruit. In Jesus’ name,

Amen. Amen and Amen.

Takeaway

Don’t measure your life only by what is visible—God may be producing something eternal beneath the surface. The word of the day is “Produce”.

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