Look Up and Look Ahead

Suggested Reading: Romans 5:1-5

When in a season of distress and agony, my heart often goes to disappointment, fear, anger, and weakness. It is in those moments that I say “God, why are you doing this? What is happening? Why me? This is too much.” It is good and right to bring all of us to the cross, for that is what Jesus desires; our hearts. However, we are given a promise.

Look at the passage. It says that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. The Oxford dictionary defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen or a feeling of trust.” To have hope in Christ is much more than that. We can have certainty that Jesus will do what He says he will do. In the meantime, we have hope. We hope in two ways; in the present and for the future. It says “...and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” To put it another way, Paul, the author of Romans, is saying “Don't look down! Look up and look ahead!

First, we look up to our living hope.  This living hope reminds us that we have already been sealed as children of God, and do not need to wonder if we are kept in the love of God. We experience grace daily when we walk in repentance and faith. God uses us in our professions and ministries to extend his kingdom. When we see His hand in the workplace or in our homes, he is using us to see His kingdom come. These things scream of God’s glory now and forevermore.

And then, we look ahead! We spent last month celebrating Advent, which is the season of preparing for the birth of Jesus. Advent also reminds us that we are citizens of another kingdom, and we hope for the time when the heavens and the earth come together; a place where there is no hurting, no suffering, no idols, and no difficult people. It will be a place of rejoicing for God’s glory. When Jesus returns, we will experience grace in the fullest, love in the fullest, joy in the fullest, and redemption in the fullest.

How does this matter as women of the Word and daughters of the King? It means we need to be kingdom focused. Life is hard and exhausting. There are times when we do not see the fruit of our hard work. We are all sinners, and we all experience seasons in the hills and in the valleys. Keep your focus on the kingdom work that is happening both in your soul and in the lives of others. Be reminded that this is not it, but there is a world to come where there is perfect intimacy with God, where we are completely whole, there is unity and security with others, and where the heavens and earth become one. Everything that has been broken by crime, sin, and brokenness will be restored. Take heart; It will be perfect shalom.

Written by Victoria Richardson

Previous
Previous

Rejoice Always