Joyful Patient and Faithful

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

JOYFUL, PATEINT, AND FAITHFUL

Rom 12:9-13

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

NIV

Now it is time to think about being joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. We are not sure if we can do justice to all three of those traits that we are to incorporate into our being, but at least we will start off with being joyful in hope. However, as this is a triplet and considering the format of the Greek words, we should look at all three as they feed off of the others. If we read it in the way the Greek has it, it would be hope joyfully, in tribulation patience, and in prayer continuing constantly. So then, if our hope of glory is so assured that it is a rejoicing hope, that is if our expectation of the glory of God will be revealed, that is when the fullest of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this earth are united in the truest sense when all will be one and the completeness of the new creation will appear as the new city of Jerusalem comes down from heaven and we will shall rule and reign with Christ. What a rejoicing that will be, when our Jesus we will see. This should bring this rejoicing to us right now in the current age as we bear his image in this present world. This then should also give us in this tribulation, or the pressures of this world, which is the meaning of the Greek word translated as tribulation, patience, again, because we are filled with rejoicing in the expectation of the revealing of the glory of God. However, both this joyfulness and patience under pressure are fed from our being faithful in prayer. But we must consider just how that prayer feeds our rejoicing and patience. Unlike what we hear in many of the voices of believers, prayer is a list of needs and wants, or at least prayers for healing, provisions, and protection. However, prayer in the truest sense of the word is a conversation with God that starts out by giving him all the praise and honor his name is due. Prayer also seeks his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, which implies that we want God to reign completely in our lives. It seems to us that the usual prayer is us bringing our needs and laying at the feet of our Lord and then getting up, so to speak, and walking off to begin our daily lives. Rarely do we spend time just sitting, or kneeling or laying, or whatever and be still, and know that he is God, just listening in the stillness of our soul, or spirit, waiting for God to speak to us, to engage in this conversation with us. Granted, we can do this praying as we read his word, and find that we hear his voice within His words. But it also can be that as we still our spirit, we hear that still small voice of God within us, speaking his will, his direction, his correction and guidance directly to us, and yes, even an audible voice at times. It is when we hear from God in prayer is when we can be joyful in the revelation of his glory, and endure with patience the pressures this world puts upon us, and then even that can be done with joyfulness for we have heard from God.