“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” – Romans 8:18-25
There’s a longing, a deep yearning inside each one of us for freedom, for peace. To be set free from the daily stress and anxiety this corrupted world produces in these corrupted bodies is a deep rooted desire I don’t think any honest person can deny. In the moments we let our sinful tendencies to take over, we become fearful of lacking provisions like food and a home. We fear we might lose our job, our friends and loved ones, our normal way of life.
We have less obvious, inward, twisted and ugly fears, too. These fears nudge us to the center of everything, to the most prominent positions. We want to believe our marriages and relationships are about us. For the sake of feeling valued and loved (good things), we fight for control in our lives, to obtain or hold onto prominence (a negative thing). Then, when that begins to slip out of our hands and we sense a loss of control, fear takes control of us.
Fear, mixed with pride and a distorted worldview or belief system, produces all types of sin. From Scripture, James put it like this, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel” (Js. 4:1-2). When what we want begins to show signs of disappearance, fear and sin battle together inside of us for victory and control.
Others have what we want and so we envy them or become jealous. We get mean, hateful, and fight with weapons called slander, gossip, lies, and selfishness for the sake of taking control in obtaining what we want. These feelings and actions aren’t usually obvious. They’re often subtle and devious, hiding underneath the causes of things like justice and fairness, right and wrong, inflicting themselves on those we love and are supposed to love. Sin likes to disguise itself as a good thing.
The Christian has been set free from this corruption but the corruption still lingers on this side of heaven. Sin tries desperately to create enough fear to turn us away from God. Anything that makes our hearts turn from faith and trust in God is a temporary victory for the devil and sin. It’s the war that rages on, even for the Christian; especially for the Christian.
Until hope is realized, when we take part in what is new and sin is no more, we fight and we wait. With the strength of God we painstakingly fight sin, refine our faith, and mature in the ways of Christ. At the same time we wait with endurance, perseverance and patience. Also, we wait with joy if we hold firm to what is our hope, because the suffering is temporary and the hope is eternal. We’re already free.
I would be lying if I said the fight and wait were anything less than agonizing. Yet, it is still joyful. Not a contradiction, agony and joy work together in the Christian life as a paradox, like God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom to choose. We can have joy in the agony because of the hope and also because finding freedom in Christ through the pain is well worth the pain.
It’s terrifying and humbling to give up control of our lives, to give it all to God in faith. In a song called Faith!? by Chris Renzema, my favorite line of that song, says, “Stepping out onto the water, not sure if you’ll sink or stand, I think fear’s pretty normal, when you’ve only ever walked on land.” I laugh almost every time I hear that line because it’s so obvious and true. Every time we give something of our lives to God, we step onto the water in faith. Every time we’ll find that it’s worth it.
Freedom, value, worth, and love are all found in Jesus Christ. What’s on the other end of that terrifying step onto the water is a joy that’s hard to put into words. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). The sufferings, the war, the fight, and the wait is worth it. It’s worth what it produces in us, here on this side of heaven where we already have a taste of the joy. It’s worth the eternal joy that the fight and wait can’t compare to.
Patience is needed for the hope we know is there but can’t yet see. When the fight against sin and fear is tiresome, we need patience. When life feels unfair or unjust, we need patience. When we feel like we’re losing control, we need patience. We need patience and we need faith. We need to keep fighting until freedom and peace are the only thing left, until our hope is seen and our joy is made full.
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” – Hebrews 6:11-12
-Pastor Ben