Continuing Steadfastly in Prayer...

Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer--Romans 12:12 
(emphasis mine)


Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

This triplet in Romans is filled with wisdom and exhortation for daily living. The one that we need, however, to do the other two is to be continuing steadfastly in prayer.  We need the connection with Him...without Him we can do nothing. This is what we must practice in our lives.  Surrendering to Him when we feel overwhelmed, insecure, grieved, angry, offended, undecided...and a thousand other feelings that us frail human beings must deal with daily.  God wants us to cry out to Him and when we do it is then we can rejoice and be patient because we know He has got our backs. He will doing nothing to harm us.  His goal is only our good...

We can  rejoice in a sure and certain hope because God has got our past, present and future covered. Our past is covered because our sins were forgiven at the moment of salvation.  Our present is covered because Jesus by His death and resurrection tore down the wall of separation so we who believe, can now come to His throne of grace boldly to find mercy and help in our time of need.  Our future is assured because He is our sure and certain hope and our refuge now and at death.

We can be patient in tribulation because as it says in James the testing of our faith produces endurance and we know that our trials produce blessings.  Verse 12 in James 1 is a beatitude and says "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial.  We can suffer long through a trial because our past, present and our future is secure and the battle is not ours but His.  We can look forward in a trial to the blessings that it will produce now and in eternity..  We can step out of the misery and the pain of a moment and look forward....unfold it so to speak in our minds and see what the Lord might do in us and through us. An unbeliever, sadly, has no forward button in a trial...there is no hope..just increasing pain and misery and then endless suffering.  Tragic, but the remedy is simple. Belief.

The thread that runs throughout both of these as I said earlier is prayer.  We cannot know God without spending time with Him both in His word and in prayer. It is our confidence in God and who He is that anchors us in this world.   That is why continuing steadfastly in prayer is the key...spending time with Him, learning all that we can about Him, depending on Him and allowing Him to guide our thoughts, words and actions.   Draw near to Him girls, stay in fellowship with Him, wait on Him.  When our eyes are on Him, His word, His promises and what He has done, they are off ourselves and our circumstances and focused on the One who can do exceedingly abundantly in our lives.  We remember then that our purpose here on earth is just to do His will...then whatever comes our way is from Him and we can be patient through it because we have confidence that He is working it for His purposes in our life. I can bear the present because I am giving my burdens to Him.

Live your life as a prayer to Him...the key is drawing near in real intimacy...not just going through the motions, but by truly drawing near and making a practice of dependence on Him in your life.  We need to learn trust Him with everything.   He loved us enough to die for us when we were still His enemies, dead in our trespasses and sins.  How much more will He take care of us and defend us when we have been reconciled to Him.  He will surely see us through. We are concerned about our present comfort, Jesus is concerned about eternity. Choose not to be upset or discontent about whatever your situation might be at the moment.  Choose Him.  Choose to give the heartache, the loss, the grief, the trial, the circumstance to Him.  Rest then in His provision and care.  David does this so well...read the psalms.  He had such an intimate relationship with His God.

Go to Him, girls.  Cry out like David did...Wait on Him.  Be quiet before Him.  Wait for Him to speak to your heart. Take the cares and concerns of your day and turn them into prayers. We talk about doing this a lot but not many of us actually do it.  Lay it all out before Him. Give them all to Him. Watch Him do exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think...probably not as you expected but better and more beautifully than you ever could have imagined. As you do this you will have His peace that will surpass your understanding and will leave you rejoicing in His goodness, grace and mercy.

Love
Mom


Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of god in Christ Jesus for you. (me)--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. --Philippians 4:4-7

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; --Colossians 4:2

Rejoicing in Hope...Romans 12:12

Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer...Romans 12:12

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

Back to look at another trilogy in Romans 12 that speaks to the kind of behavior that is becoming of a Christian. This one begins with the admonition of rejoicing in hope.  What is hope?  Hope is the absolute expectation of something good. Biblical hope is sure and certain...as if what you are expecting has already occurred. Luke 10:20 says we are to rejoice because our names are written in the book of life.  Romans 5:1-2 are two of the most comforting verses in Scripture because of what they tell me about what I have through Jesus Christ at the moment of my salvation...at the time of my justification.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Here is why we should be rejoicing in hope....Yes, we can rejoice because our future is taken care of.  Christ is our hope of glory...sure and certain.  But through our justification He also has our present and past covered.  Read on and be comforted and encouraged that no matter what situation you may find yourself in here on earth, our God is there.

An unbeliever, the bible tells us, is at enmity with God...at war and are under the condemnation of eternal separation from God.  Justification is a declaration of peace...through our belief in God's Son we are declared righteous and are no longer under condemnation.  We stand in Christ's righteousness.  Our sins have been taken care of  and eternal life with Him is ours because Christ died for us. We have been conveyed from death to life..from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. Our past is taken care of...our sins are forgiven.

Now if that were not enough, we also has access to God now...at any time.   Ephesians 2:18 says through Him we have access to the Father. The word access means entrance to the king through the favor of another. We can come to Him any time because we are His child. We do not have to clean ourselves up to come...we can just come.  Hebrews 4 says we can come boldly to His throne that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 tells us this:

Romans 8:34  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them

So no matter what circumstances we face here our God can see us through.  He never leaves us nor forsakes us.  Christ lives for us...our present is taken care of because He makes intercession for us.


Lastly and most important we can rejoice because our eternal hope is sure and certain. As a believer a home in Heaven with our Lord  is ours. One day we will share in His glory.  When we were sinners, we had no hope, but were dead in trespasses and sins. We can now boast in His righteousness and His glory. It is as certain as if it had already occurred.  The righteous have a refuge in death...Jesus.  He is the Anchor of our soul and guides us with His counsel here and afterward receives us in glory.  Our flesh and our heart will fail here on earth, but God is our portion forever. Our future is assured...Christ is coming in glory.

Girls, God has got us covered not only because He lives in us...not only because He is our rear guard....not only because He goes before us...but because through our justification He has taken care of our past, our present and our future.  Our past is taken care of because our sins (past, present, and future) are taken care of...they are forgiven.  Our present is taken care of because we have access to God and can come boldly to His throne of grace to find mercy and help in our time of need.  Our future is taken care of because our hope is in Him.  He, as it says in Hebrews, is our Anchor, our Hope.  He is the Presence that goes behind the veil and allows us access to our Father in Heaven. Our hope is anchored in the unchangeable, immutable word of God.  Both in life and death then , we have no worries.

Love
Mom


--Thanks Warren Wiersbe for his commentary on Romans 5:1-2...when I first read it along with the verses it spoke volumes of comfort to my heart.  I love the picture of Christ having our past, present and future taken care of and hope you will too.