Be Joyful in Hope
Be Joyful in Hope
When it comes to enduring a tough situation, hope can be difficult to hold onto. This may be why the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to encourage his friends who were facing overwhelming circumstances to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” God knows when suffering settles in to stay; it takes supernatural effort to be patient in affliction or faithful in prayer. And it may be doubly hard to be joyful in hope. This is why we need a special command—Romans 12:12 reminds us it is possible to keep enduring, keep praying faithfully, and keep joyful about hope, especially when all seems to be falling apart around us.
© chungking
Okay, you think, I can understand the need to be patient when things are hard, and faithful in prayer, but I just can’t muster honest-to-goodness joy. Besides, what’s joy got to do with hope, anyway?
Romans 15:13 puts it this way: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.” Joy has everything to do with hope. As you trust in God, especially when hard times linger, the God of hope gives you his joy (and his peace, too). This joy may not look like what the world considers joy, with its trappings of merriment or cheerful glee. Instead, this joy may feel like a profound and deep gladness ... an unshakable delight ... a quiet but powerful pleasure that you know God is in control.
As you trust in the God of hope, your faith grows and you overflow with hope. What does biblical hope look and feel like?
Does that seem impossible now, from your current point of view? Take heart! Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” To place your hope in God is to wait on him, and waiting on him does not mean passive indifference—hanging around and doing nothing. Hope in God is saying “no” to fear or discouragement, and by so doing, saying “yes” to something that will satisfy much more down the line. Wait on God, believing that what God has planned is so much better than what we grab for ourselves!
Jesus is so much dearer, sweeter, and nearer to me now than when I first believed as a teenager. When I was new in the faith, I appreciated what Jesus had done, but I never considered him ... precious. Only old hymn writers spoke of him as precious! Now I am old. And Jesus is my true Friend, my Fortress when I am frightened, my Beloved when I give him praise, my Righteousness when I have sinned, and my Shepherd who seeks me when I’ve gone astray. Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope”—and I am!