We can’t put our hope in things getting better.  They may or may not.  We simply don’t know if the virus will go away and not come back.  We don’t know if the economy will recover.  We don’t know if the post virus world will be the same as the world we knew.  (If 911 affected our world, what will the virus do?). We live in an uncertain world.  We can’t pin our hopes on getting back to normal.  We must pin our hopes on God.  No matter what happens, we have his promises that he is with us and he is bringing human history to the great day when he will take back his creation and remake it even better than it was at his first creation.  He will reign in justice and righteousness.  And we will enjoy living in a place better than Eden.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

Hope, joy, peace.  This isn’t nebulous pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking.  This a rock-solid grounding for living.  Because we know the outcome, the happily-ever-after ending (or should I say beginning?) we can go through our days with confidence.  This confident hope in God making everything right in the end isn’t abstract to me.  I often look at nature in all its beauty now and think how even more glorious the New Earth will be.  In that restored earth there won’t be any more violence.  The animals won’t eat each other or harm us.  There will be a perfect balance in the ecosystem cleaned forever of pollution.  We will explore places we could never hope to visit in our limited bodies now.  We won’t be hindered in our thinking by self-centeredness.  We will be free of destructive thought patterns and desires.  We will attain our full potential.  And all this in harmony with others and in unbroken fellowship with our Savior.  Having this to look forward to encourages us to keep moving forward toward this happy place.

“And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”  Romans 15:4

Ok, so it’s nice to have something to look forward to, but does that change our present experience?  Yes, because God’s good plan for us is already in motion.  He not only planned the distant future, he also loved each person in every age and longs to come close to them in their daily lives.  He is willing to walk through our days with us.  He invites us to pour out our hearts to him in the thick of the hard things.  He delights to show up and prove his love to us.  He listens to us.  He answers us.  He cares and he’s powerful enough to step in and help.  The whole Bible is filled with stories of people like us calling on God and being heard and helped.  This is what trust is all about.  This calling out to God is what faith is.  And God always rewards that faith.  He listens and answers.  He may not give us what we ask for, because we may not know what is best for us.  But he listens and moves circumstances for our highest good.  This hope in God’s presence and power encourages us to live our daily lives trusting him for good outcomes.

How about peace?  All of us tend to be discontent with what we have.  We long for what we don’t have.  Even if we have enough materially, we want a little more.  If we have accomplished a goal, we immediately set our sights on another goal.  It’s hard to accept where and what we are.  Yet, Jesus comes to us in our striving and offers peace.  He gives us something better than genie-in-a-bottle granting desires.  He offers us completeness and fulfillment as we believe him.  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  John 6:29.  We receive God’s peace and joy when we trust him.

We learn patience as we wait for all of God’s wonderful promises to be completed.  We wait in faith until the day we see God making good on what he promised us.  We live in a society that craves instant.  We value fast.  We like to cook our food fast.  We want the fastest internet we can get.  We like fast service.  Fast delivery.  Fast responses.  Getting places quickly.  But patience gives us a resting place out of the whirlwind.  Patience calms the frantic push.  Patience forms a bulwark against the flood of fear and panic.  God rewards patient waiting for him.  Abraham waited long years to see the completion of God’s promise to him that he would have a son.  David waited for years to see God’s promise that he would become king.

What is the by-product of getting God’s hope, joy, peace, patience, and encouragement?  All these gifts from God help us get along with each other!  When we’re hopeful, joyful, patient, and encouraged, we find it easier to help others and build them up, thinking of them and not just ourselves.  When our emotions are grounded in the hope, joy, peace, patience, and encouragement of God, we have the resources to live in harmony with others.  Knowing God accepts us makes it easier to accept others.   Seeing the example of Jesus serving others makes it important for us to serve others.

“We must not just please ourselves.  We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.  For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” (Psalm 69:9). Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.  Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.  He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing praises to your name.”
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:1-9,13

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