What's the Best Way to Endure Tribulations?

October 12th, 2026
by Pastor Stu

Real Answers to Tough Questions

Class 5: What's the Best Way to Endure Tribulations?

Redemption Hills Church - Adult Sunday School

Pastor Stu • October 11, 2026

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." Why does that hymn still move us? Because by grace, wretches like us walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). So today's question: What's the best way to endure tribulations? Trish, by the way, is grateful for a husband who tackles small repairs until they're big enough to call the professionals. As we study Colossians 3:12-17, ask yourself: "Self, am I a grateful person?"

A gracious heart is a virtuous heart. Colossians 3:12 calls us "God's chosen ones, holy and beloved." Our names were written in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 13:8; 17:8), not by merit, but by grace. Holy means set apart (Romans 8:33; Titus 1:1). Imagine a groom running off with the maid of honor! When we live like the world, in joy or in trial, we violate our calling. And beloved? God's agape love does what's eternally best for us, not what's easiest. He even uses tribulations to purify us.

Tribulation is often where virtues grow. Compassion: Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln sat beside a dying soldier and wrote his letter home. When the young man learned who had written it, he asked, "Are you really our President?" "Yes. Is there anything else I can do?" "Will you please hold my hand?" And Lincoln did, until dawn. Kindness: "My yoke is easy" (Matthew 11:29-30), and after we've suffered a little while, the God of all grace restores us (1 Peter 5:6-11). Want to win the world? Melt it; don't hammer it. Humility: Samuel Morse credited the telegraph to God, not his own superiority. Meekness isn't weakness. It's power under control. Patience refuses bitterness.

Colossians 3:13 adds bearing with one another and forgiving, "as the Lord has forgiven you." Paul wrote, "When we are reviled, we bless" (1 Corinthians 4:12), even, "Why not rather be wronged?" (1 Corinthians 6:7), and praised the Thessalonians' perseverance (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Forgiveness heals. Psychiatrist Karl Menninger said if his patients believed their sins were forgiven, 75% could walk out the next day! Above all, put on love (Colossians 3:14), the Spirit's fruit (Galatians 5:22) that binds everything together.

A gracious heart is a peaceful heart. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… And be thankful" (Colossians 3:15). What rules your heart when times are tough? What rules RHC? The Colossians listened more to man than to God. But real peace comes only from Christ, and the closer we are to Him, the closer we are to each other. Peace and gratitude go together. Ingratitude marks the unbeliever (Romans 1:21); we give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

A gracious heart is a thankful heart. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16). Trish and I have hosted guests. But a guest comes and goes when it's convenient; a dweller stays, whatever the circumstances. Is God's Word a guest in your life, or does it live there? When it dwells richly, we teach and warn one another. That's not just the pastor's job. It's yours. If your building were burning, I'd warn you. Why not about sin? Tribulations teach us to tell fireplace smoke from a house fire.

Then Colossians 3:17: "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks." Do all to God's glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). Three times in three verses, Paul says be thankful. On the Oregon Trail, one wagon train had gone days without enough water or grass. Wagons broke down. Tempers grew short. They gathered around the campfire to air complaints, until a man stood: "First, let's thank God we've come this far with no loss of life." Silence. Nobody had a complaint left.

So try it. For one week, whatever happens, find something different each day to be thankful for, then thank the person responsible. Don't bottle it up. Let it spill over the cup into the saucer. God has filled your heart with Amazing Grace. Give it away, especially when life is a struggle. Will you?

To the Glory of God, Pastor Stu. Please remember to come to next week's class if you are not volunteering.