Romans 8:18-25
That’s why I don’t think there is any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile the joyful anticipation waits. All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not all around us; it is within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, do not see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful is our expectancy. Romans 8:18-25 (MSG)
These words from scripture really speak to me at this time in Life, in our nation’s history and in our individual lives. It is a time of great change, of confusion and chaos, of frustration and even fear, and, perhaps most important of all, it is a time of clarification when God is asking us to name our values, seek God’s direction and wisdom, discern what is most important in our daily living, and look to the future with HOPE.
As a nation, we’ve been through this before, time and time again. Think back to the time of the Civil War, of WWI and WWII, of the Vietnam War, of civil unrest which has run like a stream through all the rest. Think back in your own life of times of change and challenge: marriage, children, job, moves, illness, death of loved ones, when it was difficult to truly see the future clearly but only that everything once known was now experiencing a whirlpool of darkness and shadows and a little bit of light. What kept you going? Love? Faith? Hope?
Probably all of these. But I wonder if perhaps HOPE was most of all?! HOPE is a glorious word! 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that there are three great things: Faith, Hope, and Love. These three, I believe, are on a movable continuum. And I have found that while Love is declared the greatest of all, HOPE is just as great and sometimes in life it is an even greater thing to hold onto. After all, there is before us a new day when we can look for a new road, a new choice at the bend in the road even though we have miles to go. Some storms in life seem to rage so loud that it’s hard to hear that sweet song of HOPE...but it is always there; deeper than optimism, mysterious, elusive, delicate, vulnerable, a special grace through which we are given the ability to bounce back in spite of road blocks and to move forward in Faith and Love! So hold on to Hope!
Emily Dickinson wrote long ago during a time of great loss: “Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without words and never stops at all.” Paul’s letter to the Romans encourages us to look beyond the present times to the glorious future God has for us. Even though it is in the future, it is being given to us now – while we wait! Hope!
Questions for Reflection:
- What is your greatest Hope in your life right now? What is your Hope for our country, for our world? How do you envision each of these to be fulfilled? Can you wait “with joyful expectancy”? What does its fulfillment look like to you? A grand celebration? a party? a picnic? Or something else?
Prayer:
Great, marvelous, and grace-filled God,
Not only are You more than we can ever understand, but it’s hard for us to imagine from day to day what the future holds for us. We are so very thankful for these words and for all your promises that encourage us to hang on in Hope, no matter what we may be experiencing. There is in every day a new beginning and there is for always a new Beginning too. Keep us in your Grace as we hold on to the Hope of the fulfillment of all you promises. In Jesus’ name
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