Weekly Devotional: Welcoming from afar (12 in Hope and Trust in God series)

Hope embodied in the new life at Springtime…

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:18–27

I have an amazing friend whose husband works in the oil industry. When he got a job in Dubai some years ago, she moved to a country she had never before visited. She trusted and believed that this was right. And it has been, for their sons have experienced the riches and challenges of a country far different from that of their parents. Then after some six years their time in the Middle East ended, and again they moved to a city she and the boys had never visited, this time Houston in Texas.

My friend reminds me of this passage from Romans, as well as Hebrews 11 with its list of the heroes of faith who welcomed from a distance the things they were promised. They couldn’t see what they hoped for, but they kept believing. Their hope was not a vague thing, such as “I hope my team will win.” Rather it referred to something solid, as we saw last week – something on which to build our lives.

Paul here speaks again of the suffering we will endure on earth. Yet because we have God’s Spirit living in us, as a deposit, we have this solid hope. Hope for things to come – our redemption, and the redemption of the world. Hope that helps us to endure and wait patiently for God to come good on his promises.

Living in the light of the hope of heaven can infuse our lives with joy in the midst of trials. For as Jesus said to his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And though we suffer, even the finality of death is tempered by the forthcoming grand reunion at the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, make me into a person of hope, who believes that you will do what you promise.