Romans 12:12

NIV -- Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

ESV -- Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer

HCSB -- Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer

NET -- Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer

NASB -- Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer

AMP -- Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer

MSG -- Cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times, pray all the harder.

KJV -- Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant prayer

Let's look at these 3 exhortations..

First.. Be joyful in hope

Rejoice .. being joyful.. cheerfully.. expectant in HOPE

The Greek word used here means rejoice, joy, joyfully, be glad, hail

Hope -- faith, hope BUT from a root word that mean to anticipate (usually with pleasure).. expectation, confidence

So I am to be full of joyful anticipation and confidence in my faith and hope which is Jesus Christ!

Next... Be patient in affliction

Patient in.. enduring... persevering... steadfast .. in affliction, suffering , tribulation

hupomeno (Greek) -- to stay under, remain, bear, have fortitude, endure, abide, take patiently.

Tribulation -- from root which means pressure, affliction, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble

So I am to be patient.. endure.. stay under.. bear.. remain in.. have fortitude in.. abide while I an in tribulation, trouble, affliction, anguish, burdened or pressured.

Abide.. I don't think we are to abide IN the suffering or tribulation but to abide while going through it.

John 15 is all about abiding.. remaining.. in HIM.. Only way we bear fruit is to abide in Him and we are called to bear fruit no matter the circumstances.

So our hope is in Him.. our abiding in Him...

and lastly... Be faithful in prayer

Continuing instant.. be faithful.. constant.. persistent.. devoted in prayer

"continue instant" is a phrase foreign to me.. even though I was reared with the King James Version of the Bible.  It means to be earnest towards, to persevere, be constantly diligent, to adhere closely, attend continually, wait on.

So I am to be earnest toward, persevere in, be constantly diligent, adhere closely to, attend continually to, wait in prayer... and again,  we find Jesus.. for our prayers are to be asked in His name!

These verses go hand in hand with 1 Thess 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I love that the underlying current which allows me to do these things.. to rejoice.. be patient.. be faithful.. is JESUS.. my hope in Him.. sharing in His affliction.. staying connected to Him with prayer. It is all about Jesus and our relationship with Him!

A Season of Trials

Life, lately, has been a series of somewhat rough times. Health issues... financial woes... home repair emergency... things like that... all starting back shortly before Christmas. Even with lots of prayer and time in the Word, my life circumstances haven't changed a bit ... in fact, it seems more and more keeps piling on... but last night God brought to mind the verse where Job says "Though you slay me yet I will praise You." I am choosing to do that as best I can. This life was never meant to be easy. I prayed a couple of months ago and asked God earnestly to make me more like Jesus and I believe that is part of all this. He is growing my faith.. bit by bit. I am a stubborn tough root that needs a lot of pruning and hoeing and work!

So here are a couple of scriptures that have really spoken to my heart today:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Romans 5:1-5

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

It is really comforting, to me, to know that we don't go through trials and suffering for no reason. God uses everything in our life.. even what we perceive to be bad. And often it turns out that bad is actually a path to better... God's better!