Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Growing up, I've always admired joyful people, and I've had a few friends who went through some devastating things, yet somehow they still had joy. I always looked up to them and wondered, how do they keep that joy when life is crazy? There's so much that's not going well for them, yet when all they see is loss in their lives, they're still joyful.
Joy Attached to Hope
After talking to a few of my friends, here's what I learned from them. Their joy was attached to where they placed their hope. Their joy was attached to where they placed their hope. In our text today, Paul reminds us to rejoice. He says in our confident hope. What's our hope as believers? Our hope is that no matter what we go through, there is coming a day where everything will be made right.
When we look around right now, things aren't as they seem. Things are not getting any brighter. It's easy to just lose hope and say, well, what's the point? I mean, things are getting darker, so what hope do I have? Well, for the believer, our hope is vertical. It's not horizontal. It's vertical because our hope is in the God of hope. That's why we don't get our strength from the systems of the world or from people around us. People may encourage us, but our hope is not ultimately in them.
A Confident Hope
Paul says, rejoice in our confident hope. It's not a wishy-washy hope. It's a confident hope. Knowing that God is faithful. He has a good track record. He's never going to leave us. He's never going to abandon us. He didn't just save us and then say, well, go ahead and figure it out. No, we have a hope that things will be made right. Here's what hope does. It gives us strength for the day. Hope keeps me moving. What I do in my everyday activities actually matters when I have hope.
Be Patient in Trouble
Then Paul says this. Be patient in trouble. I think he says that because as we go through hardship, here's what can happen. We can start to lose heart. We get discouraged. We get bitter. It's so important that we're patient. Paul says to be patient in trouble. Why is that? Because the Bible tells us that patience produces character. I've often prayed, Lord, mold me into Your image. I want to be a person of character. Then God puts me in a situation and I complain. Paul is reminding us, hey, be patient. Don't throw in the towel. God is slowly molding you. Your job, my job, is to be patient in trouble.
Keep on Praying
Then he closes out and he says, keep on praying. He's reminding us that the fuel for what's ahead, our strength for what's ahead, is going to come by developing a deep prayer life. Because here's what happens when we pray. We get fresh perspective in the presence of God. The Bible says there's fullness of joy. There's peace, and our strength is ultimately found in the presence of God.
I love this text. Paul says, rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying.
