GROANING IN HOPE
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Opening Prayer
Holy Spirit, thank you for all you have done to bring me to faith in Jesus. Help me to follow him closely, grow in his image, and share with others his great love and sacrifice for sin.
Read ROMANS 8:18—30
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Romans
Romans 8
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Reflect
Come before God, rejoicing in the hope he has given us through his Son, Jesus: ‘My hope is built on nothing less / than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.’1
There is tension in Paul’s words between present suffering and future hope. We see it in our own lives as we struggle with sin; we see it in our family and friends as they face sickness, death, and material needs; we see it every day on our TV news in the world’s chaos because of war, famine and disease; we see it in creation, as greed, decay, and destruction wreak havoc in our beautiful world. And yet…
The reality of suffering in the present is not in question (v. 18), but Paul says it is nothing in comparison with the hope of God’s glory. This hope is not a vague possibility; it is a sure promise. So, we might be ‘groaning’—as a mother in labor waits for her child to be born (v. 22); but, with the rest of God’s creation, we wait in hope and ‘eager expectation’ (v. 19), knowing that God’s word will be fulfilled. So, we must wait patiently (v. 25). It’s hard—but we’re not on our own.
Remember that the ‘Spirit … who raised Jesus … is living in you’ (v. 11). He knows our weakness and our confusion (v. 26). When we’re out of words, he ‘groans’ for us and intercedes for us according to God’s will (vv. 26, 27). Paul encourages us: in all the difficult things that are happening to us and around us, God is at work, bringing about our conformity to the image of his Son. Jesus has endured suffering beyond imagination and has been raised to glory. Paul asserts that in the ‘now’ of our experience, God’s eternal work in us is complete: we are called, justified, and glorified (v. 30).
Apply
What is making you ‘groan’ in your life today? The Spirit is interceding for you. Our hope is sure.2
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, the hope you offer is, indeed, an anchor for my soul. Thank you for your continued intercession on my behalf.
1 ‘My Hope is Built on Nothing Less’, Edward Mote, 1834 2 Heb 6:19; 11:1.
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