Our Eager Expectation

Recently at my church we have been working our way through Romans 8 on Sunday mornings. As I was sitting in the service a thought came to me – if the Spirit brings a thought to our attention after we have been under the ministry of the Word, then we need to act on that Spirit lead thought. So, naturally, I wanted to say something to someone about what I was thinking. Yet, my own pride got in the way because I feared what others might say.
On Sunday evenings we are preparing to launch our home community groups (a.k.a. small groups). For the time being, we are one big group meeting at the church and discussing how we can apply what we have learned in the Sunday message. This time is immensely beneficial. At this time I get to see how God is at work in the lives of my brothers and sisters and at times they even get to impact my life by sharing some truth about God. The personal growth that I have had has made this move to Philadelphia worth it.

In Romans 8:18-25 Paul informs the Roman believers that all creation is eagerly anticipating the future glory and hope that is found in Christ. We all suffer because of the curse of sin. Sin affects every aspect of our life. It ruins relationships. It damages the world around us. It even taints our worship of a holy God. We all suffer because of sin and long for something/someone to save us from this pain. That someone is Jesus, our Redeemer. He has redeemed us and given us a future hope that we will one day not suffer under the curse of sin any more. This brings great comfort and joy to us as believers.
What’s more amazing is that we know that we will suffer to some extent in this life. Yet, God has given us the grace we need to patiently endure the suffering and thereby bring glory to God. Part of what gets us through these tough times is the fact that our hope is an exceeding glorious hope in Jesus who will never let us down. He has promised that our sufferings will one day cease and that should excite us, even in the midst of trials.