3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.(Romans 5:3-5)
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
How many of us really understand what the Lord means when he COMMANDS us to rejoice in our sufferings??? I'm not sure I have it just right yet, and may never. But, I'm learning. And the curve is steep. To Rejoice in my sufferings means to believe in full assurance that I'm not living for my own happiness, my own comfort, my own progress, but that I'm living with full assurance of HOPE!!! I have HOPE because I believe in God's sovereignty. I believe in his faithfulness, in His justice, in His power, in His Spirit, in His presence, in His saving Grace, His Son!
Romans is a book I haven't sat down and dwelled in a while, many years. But, it is one that stirs my soul unlike any other. Romans always brings new life to me in a way that nothing else ever does. I find my struggle in faith, my struggle with sin, my struggle with being of the world all wrapped up in this book of few chapters.
Let me just say that I haven't much cared for repentance lately. I haven't cared to get down on my knees and thank a God who died for me to be free of the slavery of sin. I've hit rock bottom and found myself in despair. And I've surrendered control, but not to a God who is IN control. I've just given up. I'm praying this season of Lent will renew in me a contrite heart.
PSALM 51: 1-17
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
I Hope you didn't skip over the Psalm. Go back and read it again. Isn't is absolutely soul stirring? My Hope rests in this Psalm. "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin...wash me and I will be whiter than snow...Let me hear joy and gladness...create in me a pure heart...renew a steadfast spirit within me...restore the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me...then I will teach your ways...open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise...my sacrifice is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart; you, God, will not despise.
I don't have all of the answers. I'm definitely a work in progress. I mess up A LOT! But, my faith is healing. It is being restored. Our miscarriage didn't cause the lack of faith. Drifting away from God seeking my own control is what caused it.
Today I want to REJOICE in HOPE! I have every reason to hope and zero reasons to despair. The last thing I want to do is come off preachy. I really despise the preachy Christianeese that is rapidly overtaking blogs and social media. Right now I'm sitting next to a tangible vision of Hope. My son is eating applesauce (by himself I might add) while I actually get to think about something other than a diaper change, a bath (if we can fit it in), a walk outside (is it raining again today?), setting up car insurance, working (oh yeah, I have a job) and cooking (my least favorite choir of the day). I pray that whoever reads this has renewed HOPE. The Scripture is HIS; the interpretation is mine. Forgive me if I'm wrong.
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