We wait in eager expectation that what is said will be done.
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23 And 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. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
Romans 8:18-25
To share in God’s glory, we must also share in His suffering.
Jesus never promised us life without turmoil. He did promise us that He would be with us always. We see in verse 18 above that our suffering is nothing compared to the glory He has in store for us. And Paul does not say this lightly. He knew suffering probably more than most. Hopefully more than you and I will ever know. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul shares with us some of the suffering he faced (verses 24-27).
All of creation (everything that was created including man, nature, animals ,etc.) is awaiting with eager hope. I want to define that word hope because our world has done a pretty good of job of twisting hope to have a different meaning. God defines hope as desiring the expectation of obtainment. The thing that is hoped for is expected to manifest. The world has twisted the word to mean “wish.” Wish means to feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that is not easily attainable. Do you see the difference? Wishing is sometimes just to daydream whereas hope is solid and has a foundation in Christ. We hope for His return. we KNOW it is going to happen. We look forward with expectation to it happening. We don’t wish for His return, not knowing if it will ever happen. There’s a difference.
Hope also does not lead to disappointment.
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Romans 5:5
All of creation is awaiting with eager hope to see all of God’s children revealed.
Paul goes on to say that we are all subjected to the curse, against our will. We didn’t ask for it. We were just born into the curse because we are descendants of Adam. While we are new creations today in Christ Jesus, one day our bodies will be new creations as well. Right now, the part of us who are new creations is that unseen part. The part that makes us who we are. Our emotions, our personality, our will are all invisible. Just like God. We were made in His image:) One day the shells that we each have as bodies will be made new to never die again.
Verses 22 and 23 give us hope. While the whole world is groaning as in childbirth because of falling under the curse, we as believers have been given something truly special. The Holy Spirit. Don’t underestimate His Presence and His Power in your life. He is fully God. Divine. Holy. Sacred. And He dwells in me and in you! In fact, it is the Holy Spirit who gives us hope of the glorious future.
When the world is dragging through life lost and in darkness, we have focus, purpose and light through the Holy Spirit’s guiding.
To conclude the lesson on these verses, let’s read verse 24 and 25 again.
24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
Romans 8:24-25
We already have this hope. A few chapters back, Paul gives us a great verse that we should all commit to memory.
This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
Romans 4:17
We have a God who creates new things out of nothing.
He calls things into being that are nothing. The KJV states the last part of that verse “and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” This one line covers the verses in Romans 8 above. This hope of Christ’s return is as good as done. We can count on it. And hope in Christ does not disappoint. This is what enables me to not fear tomorrow. It is encouraging good news that we need to share with others.
All believers make up the Body of Christ and it is our job to co-labor with God to save this lost world. Yesterday as I was praying for the Body of Christ, I saw a fishing net full of people who are in the Body. These people are caught in fear and pain and suffering. They are not able to shake free from that net. In that net, they are of no use to the Body of Christ – which is exactly what Satan wants.
We need to help our fellow brothers and sisters shake free from these things that bind us up. Marital problems, financial problems, children issues, addictions, insecurity, offenses, jealousies, and the list goes on and on. Jesus came to give us hope and freedom. And hope does not disappoint. Let’s share that with all.
If you’d like to learn more about the Holy Spirit, read my ebook all about Him.
It is available for free when you sign up to receive emails from my blog by visiting www.evaconner.com and entering your email address in the orange bar at the top of the screen. You’ll receive an email asking you to verify that you are not a robot. After you do that, you will receive an email with a link to the free ebook which is a PDF.
Stay in the Light and the Love Always,
Eva
Leave a Reply