Life in the Spirit: Groaning and HopingSample

THE PROVISION OF HOPE

Life in the Spirit is marked by hope. Not the cross-your-fingers, tentative optimism that we often hang onto with more uncertainty than excitement. This hope, Biblical hope, is a confident expectation. It’s built on trust in God’s faithfulness, and God provides it to us as both a gift to enjoy and a resource to lean into.

Like so many of God’s gifts, the nature of hope is simultaneously already and not yet. We groan in anticipation of things to come even as we have begun to receive their fulfillment. The New Living Translation says it like this,

“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us” Romans 8:23 NLT

Jesus’ defeat of death on the cross opened the door for the power of the Spirit to fill our lives with hope. The Holy Spirit is a promise kept and brings with Him a confident expectation that our lives are secure in Him. The first fruits of the Holy Spirit are gracious evidence that Jesus has done all that was prophesied, all that was required, to make the way for us to become children of God and enter into eternal life. There was no other way. We have hope only because He provided it. God’s faithfulness assures us that all He has promised WILL be accomplished. We can count on it.

Ask Yourself:

-What types of circumstances tempt you to lean toward uncertain optimism rather than confident expectation?

-How do you think Biblical hope can serve as a resource for living a Spirit-filled life?

Pause to Pray: Father God, I thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to guide and encourage me and to grant me the hope that sustains me. Help me to trust you more in ___________. Teach me how to rely fully on your faithfulness toward my good and your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Take a Next Step:

Connect with a trusted believer friend this week and spend some time sharing with each other the things you are currently hoping for and any areas in which you may be feeling uncertain or hopeless. End your conversation together by praying for one another.