Sylvester Ngonga. Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it in patience.”
Romans 8:22 – 27
Last Sunday, I went down the stairs from the bedroom to the living area to wait for Bev and Jim to ride together to church. But no sooner had I sat down than I remembered that I had forgotten my cell phone, I had no option left but to scale up the stairs again. I couldn’t help but notice my grumbles, grunts, and groans.
I wondered what else could be happening to my body that evidenced my advancing in age. I begrudgingly remembered the recent past when I had to sit down to put on my socks! It seems that there is a point in life when we cannot escape the vagaries of aging and the corresponding difficulties that gradually knock on our doors as time moves. Sometimes without even realizing it, we inevitably start making the old-folk grunts and groans.
The apostle Paul foretells a future glory for believers but is mindful of the “groaning” and “moans” that belong to the children of God in the present age. He asserts that the current afflictions are not worth comparing with the soon to be revealed anticipated glory. Yes, we have the first fruits of the spirit, yet we groan because we await the redemption of our bodies from the shifting waters of now and not yet of the present time and the future time when all that afflicts God’s children will be conquered through him who loved us.
We may not receive the visible signs of hope that we desire. But visible hope is limited and tied to what we can see. Something greater is in store for believers, something that makes all present groaning and suffering pale in comparison. The spirit helps us in our weakness even when we do not know how to pray!
We were saved in hope and thus look forward to the unseen and wait for it patiently as we endure “hardships, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and sword” in the compelling crescendo of this chapter. God searches our hearts, loves us, and knows us. He is present with us in our weakness in the one “who died, was raised, is seated in the right hand of God and intercedes for us.” In our grumbles, grunts, and groans, we should wait for him in patience!
Prayer:
Precious Lord.
Thank you for the gift and thrill of life.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age.
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
In my afflictions, renew and revive me with your inner strength.
Amen!