Even when our circumstances look hopeless, in Romans 12:12 God calls us to,” be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.”
Paul’s charge to be “rejoicing (joyful) in hope” refers to possessing a celebratory confidence in an expectation being fulfilled. Such was the experience of Abraham: “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations” (Romans 4:18, NLT). Abraham looked forward with joyful expectancy to the fulfillment of God’s promise. King David also rejoiced in hope, steadfastly anticipating the Lord’s salvation: “I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let Your faithful one see decay” (Psalm 16:8–10).
Additionally, Paul linked the experience of rejoicing in hope to “groaning as in the pains of childbirth” (Romans 8:22, NLT). An expectant mother endures the agonies of labor, but not without the joyous expectation that, after her travail, she will hold her precious baby in her arms. We “groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a forshadow of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His undeserving adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. Romans 8:23-25 put it this way, “If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.” At the end of the day the Bible encourages us to rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; 2 Corinthians 13:11), this is applicable to promises He has in stored for us on earth and the promises He has in stored for us in heaven.
Praise and glory be to God my brothers and sisters; we can rejoice in hope as we read Scriptures, which “give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled” (Romans 15:4, NLT). We can look forward “with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed” (Titus 2:13, NLT).
4GIVEN 