Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer
Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.
Romans: 12:12 Those are three different translations, all saying the same thing:
Rejoice, be patient, and Pray
This is the first verse God gave me numerous times in 2012. It seems so simple, yet it can be so hard to do! I would like to look at it and tell you what it has meant to me. Let's start with the first part;
REJOICE IN HOPE.
Seems simple right, rejoice in our hope, but what is our hope? Will we always have it and how can we always rejoice about it, we are g oing to have rough times right? Well, look what other verse HE sent me;
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
ahh, the book of James, what a great book to help us learn how to live a christian life. I did Beth Moore's study on it, and loved it. i am hoping to study it more in depth starting in January, time permitting & God willing. Anyways....God has shown me that even in hard times, I should be rejoicing and praising His name for all the good He has done for me. As I rejoice in hope, I had to figure out what my hope was. If my hope is in the Lord, there is no other reason to not rejoice. If He is my hope, I know the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future. (jeremiah 29:11)
Definition from Merrian Websters online dictionary.
Rejoice: to give joy to
Hope: to expect with confidence
Yes I will give Joy to God and with confidence I know HE will give me what I need when I need it. How awesome is that? My HOPE is in Jesus Christ and what He has done for me, and what He has promised me. Do you know anyone without hope, without the idea that there is something better out there, that it will get better? It would be pretty dismal to have no hope, having hope in the one who made all creation, wow if He made all this, don't you think He has something good planned for us?
patient in tribulation
Patient:bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
Tribulation: a trying experience
First I want to look at John 16:33 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Romans says IN tribulation, John says you WILL have trouble.
James 1:2 says WHEN you meet trials.
We will all face hard times, we will be let down by those we love, our hearts can be broken, our bodies ravaged by disease, loved ones will be taken from us, we will fail at many things, we will make mistakes and we will experience pain, & sorrow. It is during these times that we must be patient, we should try our best to go through the hard times without complaining. It is during these hard times that God helps us grow, helps us draw closer to Him. When life is going smoothly and everything is okay, it is so easy to think we can do this on our own,that we don't need a savior, and easy for us to forget all Christ has done for us. During these times of trials, whether it be ourselves struggling in some way or a loved one, we must be patient with them and ourselves. Do not complain that they are not doing things the way you think they should or question God on why He is letting certain things happen. He has a plan for us, a plan better than we could imagine, so why settle on what we think is good when His plan is Grand? Jeremiah 29:11
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ... Ecclesiastes 3
Those are a couple of my favorite verses in trusting God has a better plan for me.
pray at all times.
pray: to make a request in a humble manner
: to address God or a god with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving
this part is pretty easy to understand. PRAY!!!!! ALL THE TIME!!!!! prayer is how we are able to communicate with the Creator of the earth, the King of kings, the Lord of lords! When we continually pray we are in constant interaction with God who can do all things. We need Him to help us in our trials, and our temptations to forgive us when we mess up, to give us wisdom to discern His will for our lives. We can pray to Him anywhere at anytime, He is always there to listen. I'd like to share this story with you I forget where I heard it, but I love it.
Imagine having a child and you sit in the living room waiting for them to come talk to you. You have so much youwant to do for them, give them a favorite toy, hug them when they fall down, comfort them when they get bullied, you want to rejoice with them when they succeed. There you sit, waiting, hoping they will make the time for you. a week goes by, and they see you and give you a quick wave, but walk past. a month goes by, and they come in and sit down and talk to you for a quick second, but are too busy to have a relationship with you. Wow can you imagine how that would hurt? We have so much to give our kids, so much to share with them. There Christ sits, waiting for us to come to Him, to have a relationship with Him. As much as we can give our children He can give us so much more. All we have to do is seek Him through prayer and reading His word. He is there for us, all we need to do is seek Him.
This was the first verse God gave me this year. And when I say he gave it to me, I mean He continually placed it in my life, it just kept popping up everywhere, till I got it! LOL! I love it when I realize He is pursuing me and asking me to come and sit with Him.
I have been working on REJOICING through my hard times while continuing to PRAY for HIS will to be done in my life, even if it is not what I want, I am trusting HIM that through these times HE will be glorified and other will know Him and that my faith will be stronger. To God be ALL the glory!
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
UMMMM, yep says pretty much the same as the romans verse....maybe He's trying to tell us something!
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