Romans 8:1 CSB – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus
Romans 8:37 CSB – in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us
Job 5:7 CSB – humans are born for trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
Job 14:1 CSB – Anyone born of woman is short of days and full of trouble
2 Timothy 3:12 CSB – In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
We Can Be Hopeful Despite Personal Suffering
Romans 8:18 CSB – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
Acts 9:15-16 CSB – “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must ______________ for my name.”
I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
2 Corinthians 11:23-28 CSB – far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death. 24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 CSB – …so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
2 Timothy 4:10 CSB – Demas has deserted me, since he loved this present world.
2 Timothy 4:14 CSB – Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works.
2 Timothy 4:11 CSB – Only Luke is with me.
Romans 8:18 CSB – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 CSB – For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Matthew 6:19-21 CSB – “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Romans 8:18 CSB – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
We Can Be Hopeful Despite Cosmic Groaning
Romans 8:19 CSB – For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed.
Romans 8:20 CSB – For the creation was subjected to futility…
Joel 1:18 CSB – How the animals groan! The herds of cattle wander in confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep and goats suffer punishment.
Romans 8:20 CSB – For the creation was subjected to futility —not willingly, but because of him who subjected it
Romans 8:19-20 CSB – For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage todecay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
Isaiah 11:6 CSB – The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together….
Isaiah 35:1-2, 5-7 The wilderness and the dry land will be glad;
the desert will rejoice and blossom like a wildflower.
2 It will blossom abundantly
and will also rejoice with joy and singing.
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy,
for water will gush in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the parched ground will become a pool,
and the thirsty land springs.
In the haunt of jackals, in their lairs,
there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus.
Romans 8:22 CSB – For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.
Psalm 126:5-6 CSB –
Those who sow in tears
will reap with shouts of joy.
6 Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.
Isaiah 55:12-13 CSB –
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,
and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;
this will stand as a monument for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
Practical Lessons for Hopeful People
- Completely Surrender to Jesus
Romans 8:23 CSB – Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
Ephesians 1:14 NLT – The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.
2 Corinthians 1:22 CSB – He [God] has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.
Matthew 19:23 CSB – Jesus said, It is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
It is for love of this world, after all, that people slave away at all their affairs. But as for you, see you slave away at all your good works, not for love of this world but for the sake of the eternal rest that God promises you. – Augustine
- Eagerly Wait In Patience
Romans 8:24-25 CSB – Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.
Psalm 130:5-7a CSB – I wait for the Lord; I wait
and put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord.
Psalm 27:14 CSB – Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Wait for the Lord.
Psalm 37:34 CSB – Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
Isaiah 40:31 CSB – but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
Lamentations 3:25 CSB – The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the person who seeks him.
Micah 7:7 CSB – But I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
“Waiting is our destiny as creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for. We wait in the darkness for a flame we cannot light, we wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write. We wait for a not yet that feels like a not ever. Waiting is the hardest work of hope.” – Lewis Smedes
1 Corinthians 15:58 CSB – …be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Pray a Groan—And the Holy Spirit Intercedes
Romans 8:26-27 CSB – In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do notknow what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:27 CSB – And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
- Be Confident That God is Working for Good
Romans 8:28 CSB – We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
James 1:2-4 CSB – Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Romans 8:28 CSB – We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
