“Since then it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand, in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us. Already we have some experience of the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.” (Romans 5:2-5 PHILLIPS)
REFLECTION
When trials and troubles abound, I’ve found that with them come options. I can either freak out and flounder or turn to our loving Lord in honest prayer. When I’ve done the latter, I find that I’m given grace to do what’s hard and necessary and actually help others in my pain, which softens my heart and brings profound meaning to my suffering. I can either isolate and invite fear or fan faith and reach out to trusted fellow believers and be vulnerable. And I can testify that the latter brings breakthrough and deeper connection.
In trials, troubles or triumph, let’s stay close to our loving Lord, who is now and forevermore our Living Hope and the One who makes it possible for us to experience a steady hope. We can trust Him to lead us into all truth, freedom and glorious things we can’t even imagine right now.
PRAYER POEM
Loving Lord, to You belongs all praise, honour and glory. You are the hero of my story. You are always truly trustworthy and the lifter of my head, and instead of ashes cause beauty to abound. Only in You can true faith, hope and love be found.
