“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Romans 5:3-4 (ESV)

Change is not always easy. But you can always be grateful for the changes God is making in you.

Why? Because no matter what you go through, God can use it to change you for the better.

Romans 5:3-4 says, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (ESV).

Do you feel joyful when you experience hard changes in life? Probably not all the time. But God wants you to experience joy because he is building your character—and character is the only thing you’re taking with you to heaven.

You’re not taking your career or your money. You’re not taking your reputation or your hobbies. You’re not taking your clothes, your TV, or your car. You could spend your whole life acquiring things and stockpiling possessions on earth. But the only thing that’s going to heaven is you—the person you’ve become while on earth.

Building your character is so important that God will use everything, even the pain in your life, to make you more like him—full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the things God wants to build into your life as you persevere.

While your circumstances and other people may be working against you, “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT). And “as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him” (2 Corinthians 3:18 TLB).

You are not all you should be yet. But you can praise God that he is changing you, making you into more of what you can be because of his grace.

By God’s grace, you are not what you used to be. By God’s grace, who you are today is because of him. And by God’s grace, you are not yet who you will be—he is still at work in you.