Day 2 - Week 46 - Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in afflication, be persistent in prayer."

Don't you love these verses that are stated in three distinct instructions?  Last week it was:

1. Do not lack diligence
2. Be fervent in spirit
3. Serve the Lord

Now we add:

1. Rejoice in hope
2. Be patient in affliction
3. Be persistent in prayer.

I'm a fairly practical person, and these verses really appeal to the practical side of my nature.  Simply telling us, as Christians, how to live...diligently, zealously, serving God, joyfully, patiently, persistently.

This week's triplet is an interesting combination.  When are you in the deepest need of hope?  When things are not looking that great...possibly when you're suffering some type of affliction.  Again, I'm going to work backwards in the verse.  When we are persistent in prayer, we will find the necessary patience to get through our present affliction, and we will find not only the ability to persevere, but we will find a joy in the midst of the affliction, because we will be reminded, through our dialogue with God, of the hope that He has given us.  The hope that tells us that whatever affliction we are going through He is faithful, He is working things together for our good, and He is preparing for us a life to come that will be free of any type of trial or suffering.

Listen to what Charles Spurgeon had to say about this verse:

Joy and patience are curative essences, but they must be dropped into a glass full of supplication, and then they will be wonderfully efficient.

Robert J. Morgan responds to Spurgeon's comment by saying, "These are the Great Physician's three prescriptions for tough times:  Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.  Take each phrase in turn, memorize it, meditate on it, consider its implications, then go to the next."

This verse aligns very closely with the verse that Peter includes in his first epistle...

1 Peter 1:3-7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,      and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,     who are being protected by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials so that the genuineness of your faith-more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Do you see the joy, the hope, the patience and finally the purpose in the midst of trial?

So tomorrow, when something goes awry, will you be able to quickly think..."Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer", and then be able to offer up a prayer asking God to fill you with His Spirit and allow you to have the reaction to your problem that He desires...a reaction based on joy, hope and patience.