But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25
Waiting Patiently
How many times did you wait today? Wait in line. Wait at a red light. Wait for a text. We spend a surprising amount of life waiting. Are you patient when it comes to waiting?
The Christian life is a life of waiting. We wait for Christ to return. We wait for the resurrection of our bodies. We wait for the day when sin is gone, and every promise God has made is fulfilled before our eyes. Yet notice how the apostle Paul describes that waiting: “We wait for it patiently.”
Patience doesn’t come naturally. There’s a reason it’s called a virtue. By nature, we want God to work according to our timetable. In a world where instant information is at our fingertips, this has only been magnified. But biblical patience is the quiet confidence that rests in God’s promises even when his timing remains hidden.
Think of a farmer. After planting his seed, he cannot make it grow by worrying. He cannot rush the harvest by checking the field every hour. He waits because he trusts that, in the proper season, the crop will come. So, too, our heavenly Father has already planted every promise in the death and resurrection of his Son. The harvest is certain. The only thing left is God’s appointed day.
That changes how we carry today’s crosses. We do not endure suffering to prove our strength. Rather, we trust that it is often through waiting that the Lord strengthens us through his Word. We wait because we know our Savior keeps every promise. One day the waiting will end. The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised. The crown that Jesus won will be a joyful reality, and every cross will be behind you. But until that glorious day, keep waiting, not with anxious uncertainty, but with joyful confidence. It will be worth the wait because no cross compares with the crown of glory that awaits.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have promised that you will come again to take your people home. Keep me faithful as I wait for that glorious day. Give me patience that rests in your promises, courage to bear the crosses of this life, and confidence that nothing can separate me from your love. Amen.
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? Romans 8:24
Saved In Hope
When you say, “I hope so,” what do you mean? “I hope the traffic isn’t bad…I hope it doesn’t rain.” It’s a wish more than a guarantee. That is not the hope in our Bible verse today: “In this hope we were saved.” Notice the tense. We were saved. Jesus has already accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. On the cross, he declared, “It is finished.” He paid for every sin. He declared that whoever believes in him already has eternal life.
So, if we are already saved, why do we still hope? Because while our salvation is complete, it has not yet been fully revealed. We possess God’s promises by faith, but we have not yet seen their fulfillment with our eyes. Think of a child on Christmas Eve. The gifts are already under the tree. They can see their name on the presents. Yet the child still waits eagerly for morning, longing to unwrap what has already been bought. So, too, our inheritance is already ours because of Christ. Yet we eagerly await the day when every promise is opened before us.
That is why Paul says, “Hope that is seen is no hope at all.” If we could already see heaven, there would be no need for hope. If our bodies had already been raised, there would be no need for waiting. But we’re not there yet. So, what do we do now? We live by God’s promises, trusting that God’s Word speaks a reality greater than what our eyes can see. A hospital room doesn’t look like victory, but Jesus says, “Your body will rise.” Tears of loneliness shed on a pillow don’t look comforting, but Jesus says, “You are my child.”
One day hope will no longer be necessary. Faith will become sight when we see Jesus’ face and rejoice in the glory that cannot be compared to present suffering. Until that day, we live in hope—not because we are guessing what the future holds, but because we know the One who holds the future.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for accomplishing my salvation completely. When my eyes are fixed on the troubles of this world, turn my heart again to your sure promises. Amen.
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23
Groan With Hope
The Bible calls the blessings we receive as Christians (for example, the peace of forgiveness) the “firstfruits.” The full harvest is coming. We have not experienced all the blessings that God promised. Therefore, we still battle temptations and fight our sinful nature. We still feel the aches of aging bodies. Because sin has left its mark on us, we groan.
But the Christian’s groan is different. The world hopes things might get better. The Christian groans with certainty. We know things will get better. Our groaning is not the cry of someone abandoned by God. It is the longing of a child waiting to go home.
The apostle Paul says we wait for “the redemption of our bodies.” What a wonderful promise! God is not interested only in saving our souls. Jesus redeemed the whole person. The same body that grows tired and eventually dies will be raised in glory. On the Last Day, Christ will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. No disease. No disability. No pain. No death. Only perfect life in the presence of our Savior.
How can we be so sure? Because Jesus has already walked this path. He groaned under the weight of our sin. He endured the agony of the cross. His body was laid in a grave. But on the third day, he rose. His resurrection is God’s guarantee that ours is coming. His resurrection was the firstfruit of others to come.
Until then, we do not pretend life is easy. We bring our griefs, disappointments, and fears to our Savior. We groan and pray fervently. And we wait eagerly, knowing that every day brings us one step closer to the moment when our groans are drowned out by the song of victory that God’s children will one day sing forever.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for making me your child through faith in Jesus. When I grow weary under the burdens of this life, strengthen my hope as I wait for the resurrection of my body and the joy of living forever in your presence. Through Jesus Christ, my risen Savior. Amen.
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1 After Joshua had gotten up early in the morning, he and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and arrived at the Jordan. They stayed there until they crossed over. 2 After three days the officers went through the camp 3 and gave this order to the people: “As soon as you see the priests from the tribe of Levi carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, you are to set out from your position and follow the ark. 4 But keep a distance between you and the ark—about three thousand feet. [1] Do not get too close to it, so that you can determine which way you should go, because you have never crossed over this way before.”
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
6 Then Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and pass by in front of the people.” So they lifted up the Ark of the Covenant and went ahead of the people.
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 You are the one who will give this order to the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant: ‘As soon as you come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you are to stand still in the Jordan.’”
9 Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come closer to me and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 Then Joshua said, “This is how you will know that the Living God is among you and that he will most certainly drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, [2] the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites: 11 Look, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is about to cross over the Jordan ahead of you. 12 So now choose for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. 13 As soon as the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing down from upstream will be cut off, and they will stand up in one heap.”
14 So the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, and the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of the people. 15 As soon as the priests carrying the ark came to the Jordan, and as soon as their feet dipped into the edge of the water (the Jordan is full and overflows all its banks during all the days of the grain harvest), 16 the waters flowing down from upstream came to a standstill. The waters piled up in one heap, very far away, at Adam, the town that is next to Zarethan, and the waters flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Salt Sea, [3] were completely cut off. So the people crossed the Jordan opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel was crossing over on dry ground, until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
The Monument
Joshua 4
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord told Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and give them the following orders: ‘Pick up twelve stones from here in the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the feet of the priests are standing securely. Carry them over with you and put them at the place where you will stay tonight.’”
4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had selected from the people of Israel—a man from each tribe. 5 Joshua said to them, “Go to the middle of the Jordan in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. There each man is to lift up one stone on his shoulder. The number will correspond to the number of the tribes descended from the sons of Israel, 6 so that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in the future, ‘What do these stones mean for you?’ 7 Then you shall respond to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. When the ark passed through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will serve as a permanent memorial for the people of Israel.”
8 So the people of Israel did just as Joshua had ordered. They picked up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, corresponding to the number of the tribes descended from the sons of Israel, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried the stones over with them to their lodging place and deposited them there. 9 Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had stood. [4] They are there to this day.
10 The priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people had been accomplished, just as Moses had commanded Joshua. The people moved swiftly and completed the crossing. 11 When all the people had finished crossing, the Ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
12 The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, [5] arranged by their military units, had crossed over ahead of the people of Israel, just as Moses had commanded them, 13 about forty thousand men armed for battle. They crossed over to the plain near Jericho to wage war in the presence of the Lord.
14 That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they honored [6] him, just as they had honored Moses, all the days of his life.
15 The Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who are carrying the Ark of the Testimony that they should come up out of the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
18 When the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, as soon as the soles of their feet reached dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and it overflowed all its banks as before. 19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and set up camp at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
20 Those twelve stones that they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 He said to the people of Israel, “When your children in the future ask their fathers, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 you shall teach your children, ‘On dry land Israel crossed over this Jordan.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up in front of us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth would know that the hand of the Lord is strong, so that you would fear the Lord your God always.”
Footnotes
Joshua 3:4 That is, two thousand cubits
Joshua 3:10 There is no known connection between the early “Hittites,” who first appeared during the patriarchal period and who were a Canaanite ethnic group (Genesis 10:15), and the later Indo-European “Hittites” from Anatolia (Turkey).
Joshua 3:16 That is, the Dead Sea
Joshua 4:9 This verse could also be translated there Joshua set up the twelve stones that had previously been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had stood. It is, therefore, uncertain if there were two monuments or one.
Joshua 4:12 Half of the tribe of Manasseh asked for land in the Transjordan. After they establish themselves there as an independent entity, they are called the half tribe of Manasseh.
1 Now Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Shittim to be spies. He said, “Go and look over the land and Jericho.” So they set out and came to the house of a woman who was a prostitute. Her name was Rahab. They settled in to spend the night there.
2 It was reported to the king of Jericho: “Some Israelite men came here tonight to spy on the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent messengers to Rahab. They said, “Bring out the men who came to you, the ones who came to your house, because they have come to spy on the whole land.”
4 Now the woman had taken the two men and had hidden both of them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 When the gate was about to be shut at dark, the men left. I do not know where the men went. Go after them quickly so you can overtake them.”
6 But she actually had taken them up to the roof and had concealed them among the stalks of flax that she had spread out on the roof. 7 The men of Jericho then went to pursue them along the route to the Jordan that led to the fords. The city gate was closed just after the pursuers had gone out to pursue the spies.
8 But before the men lay down, Rahab came up to them on the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land. Because of you, terror has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land are melting in fear before you. 10 Indeed, we have heard that the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea in front of you when you came out of Egypt, and we heard what you did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan—to Sihon and to Og. We heard that you devoted them to destruction. 11 We heard, and our hearts melted, and no one’s courage could hold up anymore against you, because the Lord your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. 12 So now, please swear to me by the Lord that since I have shown kindness to you, you in turn will show kindness to my father’s house. Give me a trustworthy sign 13 that you will preserve the lives of my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and everyone who belongs to them, and that you will spare our lives.”
14 The men said to her, “If you do not reveal what we are doing, our lives are pledged for your lives, even to the point of death. Then when the Lord gives us the land, we will show mercy and faithfulness to you.”
15 She let them down through the window with a rope, since her house was built into the city wall, and she was living inside the wall.
16 She said to them, “To the hill country! Get moving, so the pursuers do not catch up with you. Hide there for three days until the pursuers return, and then you can go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “When we come into the land, we will be free from this oath that you made us swear 18 unless you tie this bright red cord in the window through which you let us down, and you gather your father and mother, your brothers, and your father’s entire household into your house. 19 If any one of them goes outside the doors of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be free of guilt. Anyone who is with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads if a hand is laid on him. 20 If you reveal what we are doing, we will be free from the oath that you made us swear.”
21 She said, “It will be done just as you have said!” Then she sent them out, and they went away. She tied the bright red cord in the window.
22 After they left, they went up into the hill country and stayed there for three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers had searched for them all along the route, but they found nothing. 23 So then the two men set out to return. After they had come down from the hill country, they crossed the river and came to Joshua son of Nun. They reported to him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has without doubt given the entire land into our hands. What’s more, all the inhabitants of the land are melting in fear before us.”
1 This is what happened after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord.
The Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, the attendant of Moses, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. So prepare to cross the Jordan River that lies in front of you. You and all this people, prepare to go into the land that I am about to give to the people of Israel. 3 I have given you every place where the sole of your foot has stepped, just as I promised Moses. 4 From the Wilderness [1] and from Lebanon to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—as far as the Mediterranean Sea, [2] where the sun sets, this will be your territory. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you. I will not abandon you, and I will not forsake you.
6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will divide this land among these people, this land which I swore to their fathers that I would give to this people. 7 Just be strong and very courageous. Be careful to act according to the entire Law which my servant Moses commanded for you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law must never depart from your mouth, and you are to meditate on it day and night, so that you will act faithfully according to everything written in it, because then you will prosper in everything you do, and you will succeed. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified and do not be overwhelmed, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
10 So Joshua gave this order to the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and give this order to the people: ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, because within three days you will be crossing over this Jordan to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving to you as a possession.’”
12 To the Reubenites and the Gadites and to half of the tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you when he said, ‘The Lord your God is granting you rest, and he has given you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children, and your cattle will stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but you yourselves, all of your strong warriors in their military units, are to cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the Lord gives rest to them as he has to you and they too take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you may return to the land allotted to you so that you may fully possess the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave to you in the area east of the Jordan, toward the sunrise.”
16 Then they answered Joshua, “Everything that you have commanded us we will do. We will go to any place you send us. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, we will likewise obey you. May the Lord your God be with you, just as he was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your orders and does not obey whatever you command him will be put to death. Just be strong and courageous!”
Footnotes
Joshua 1:4 Or desert. This refers to the wilderness south of Israel in the Sinai Peninsula.
13 But we are always obligated to thank God for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation by the sanctifying work of the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 For this reason he also called you through our gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold on to the teachings that were passed along to you, either by word of mouth or by a letter from us. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.
Pray for Us
2 Thessalonians 3
1 Finally, brothers, pray for us so that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be glorified just as it was among you. 2 Pray also that we may be rescued from evil and wicked people. For not everyone has faith. 3 Still, the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and protect you from the Evil One. 4 We also have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we are telling you. 5 May the Lord continue to direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s patient endurance.
Warnings Against Idleness
6 We instruct you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to avoid every brother who is walking idly and not in accordance with the teaching that you received from us. 7 In fact, you yourselves know how necessary it is for you to imitate us, because we were not idle among you. 8 We never ate anyone’s bread without paying for it. Instead, with labor and hardship we worked night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 This was not because we lacked authority, but to provide an example for you to imitate. 10 In fact, when we were with you, this was our command to you: If anyone does not want to work, he should not eat. 11 Indeed, we hear that some among you are idle, not busy working, but being busybodies. 12 In the Lord Jesus Christ, we command and urge these people to work quietly and eat their own bread.
13 But you, brothers, do not grow weary of doing good. 14 And if anyone does not obey our word in this letter, take note of him so that you do not associate with him, in order that he may be put to shame. 15 Yet do not consider him an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Benediction
16 May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17 This greeting is written by me, Paul, with my own hand. This is a distinguishing sign of how I write in every letter.
1 Now, about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together with him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken from your composure or disturbed by a spirit, a message, or a letter thought to be from us, which says that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way, because that day will not come until the falling away comes first, and the man of sin [1] is revealed—the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above everyone who is called God or every object of worship, so that he sits in the temple of God, displaying himself as God.
5 Do you not remember that, while I was still with you, I kept telling you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 In fact, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who is now holding him back moves out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with [2] the breath of his mouth and destroy when he appears in splendor at his coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan, with every kind of miracle, that is, with false signs and wonders, 10 and with every kind of unrighteousness that deceives those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 And because of this, God continues to send them a strong delusion, so that they believe the lie, 12 in order that all those may be condemned who refused to believe the truth but instead delighted in unrighteousness.
Footnotes
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Some witnesses to the text read lawlessness. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)
2 Thessalonians 2:8 Some witnesses to the text read slay by.
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