The Daily Encounter
"Endurance & Encouragement"
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope”
Romans 15:4 ESV
Hope. It’s a fleeting concept in society today. Hope is a firm thing, a deep confidence, and yet we have reduced it to mean a mere “wish” or “desire”. To hope in the Lord is confidently expect the fulfillment of His promises. Yet, how does one gain hope? How do we gain this confidence? Paul gives us a clear line of sight in Romans 15.
Paul says that the ingredients for hope are two-fold:
1. Endurance
2. Encouragement of scripture
Now, these are not separate ideas; they go hand in hand. As we walk through life, we will inevitably face trials, suffering, and persecution. There will be days when God is far from our thoughts, when the weight of the world bears down on us, and when our apathy leaves our spirit dry. These are the valleys of life, and to ascend again, we need endurance. However, if you’ve ever tried to endure on your own strength, you know how quickly you will fail. So how do we find endurance?
Paul points back to scripture, and the encouragement that it brings. He even points to what “was written in former days” – here he is referencing the Old Testament scriptures, a huge, macro story of failure and redemption full of smaller stories that reflect the same theme. Over and over again, we see God’s faithfulness, His keeping of promises, and His goodness. We see how he brought His people out of Egypt, out of the lion’s den, and as we move into the New Testament, out of sin and death itself. These words, as Paul says, are not just useful and conveniently relate-able – they were written for this very purpose, for our instruction. As we see the character of God at work, we begin to see His work in our life as well, and He gives us the strength to persevere.
It is this cycle of building endurance through the encouragement of the word that gives us hope. The crux of it all lies here: are we willing to go to scripture? Are we willing to take the time to rightly divide the word of God, to guard its truth, and to let it speak into our lives? If not, hope will be far from us.
My prayer is that our lives would reflect a heart that truly values God’s word. If we are to be transformed, renewed, and sent out, we need the hope found in Christ. We must love Jesus, love the Word, and build our foundation on nothing less.
-Gavin S
|
|
