AT LONG LAST I AM FINALLY discovering that that stuff about Rome not being built in a day is true. And speaking of Rome, Paul’s words to the century-one Christians who lived there are truer than ever.
We believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
Rearing children. I know of few processes that require more patience.
We hope . . . we wait.
Standing alone. That’s a tough one. You can’t figure out why, but your tendency to lean on another person has eroded into needing that individual to make it. It’s gotten out of control. You need his or her approval. You need the strength of that person’s character. You have to be in touch too much.
We hope . . . we wait.
Accepting defeat. Ours is a winner-oriented world. Whether it’s sports or politics, education or sales . . . winning is essential for survival. Sounds so right. Seems only logical. But isn’t it strange that our deepest and best lessons in life are invariably learned amid defeats? Pain remains a marvelous pedagogue, a strict but faithful professor.
We hope . . . we wait.
Life presses in, we get discouraged, we come close to quitting.
In it all, we hope and wait for the promise of God. That He will be faithful. That He will deliver us and provide. In what or in whom is your hope? Are you waiting on life to change or are you learning to wait on Him? Don’t rush to answer. Just ponder. Be still. Read and pray. He will stand by your side when you feel most alone. Wait . . . and hope. Wait . . . and hope.
Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord . . . Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved. The full devotional can be purchased at tyndale.com.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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