Listen:

Romans 8:18-25

I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 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. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Consider:

There is a difference between “hope” and Christian Hope. In our society we use the word hope to mean something like “I wish” or “wouldn’t it be nice if” — which all simply means we don’t really think it will happen because we only have so much control over the outcome and if we can’t make it happen, we don’t really trust it will happen. Once the possibility is out of our hands, we no longer believe it’s really possible.

Christian Hope is different because it isn’t based on a wish or a hope, but the eternal nature of God. It is nestled not in human hands or subjected to the whims and whirls of the broken creation, but instead carried forward by God into the future.

There are all kinds of reasons for us not to fully trust in that future. The messages of death and decay are more pervasive, more consistent, more believable than a distant promise we don’t feel like we can hold.

Romans remind us while suffering may be a part of life, Jesus’ death has redeemed that suffering, making it a part of God’s story too. And Jesus’ story doesn’t end in death, but in the resurrection. We not have seen the resurrection with our own eyes, but we have heard the stories, we have seen its impact, and we know how it shaped our lives. The resurrection is a bold claim of possibility and a reminder God can overcome even death itself.

Christian Hope looks past these temporary moments of pain to see into the future God has promised. It moves past the worries of today to become part of the ancient story. Christian Hope slips into the stream which flows into the future promises of God.

Respond:

Before you go to sleep tonight, write down one specific positive thing you are genuinely looking forward to accomplishing or experiencing tomorrow. This small act helps your focus toward a future possibility, anchoring your thoughts in anticipation and constructive planning rather than worry. Make a plan, maybe a few steps, to turn that hope into a reality which can be seen and felt.

Pray:

God of Light, thanks for the good stuff in my life, past and present. Help me remember those joyful times today. I’m choosing one bright memory now to tuck away. Please use it to remind me later that tough times don’t last. Keep hope strong in my heart, believing not in what can be seen today, but in what you promise for tomorrow. Amen.

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