Romans 8:23-25 “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
We groan inwardly, Paul says. We groan because of a job we hate. this week a man told me he was going to make a move after 15 years in the same job. “I can’t take it anymore.” We groan because of unfulfilled dreams. We groan because our bodies break down. We groan because our marriages break up. We groan because our children go astray. We groan because our friends disappoint us.
Why does God allow such groaning among his children? Why doesn’t he do something about it? Doesn’t he know what we’re going through? Doesn’t he care?
Sometimes we begin to question God’s character as if he somehow enjoys seeing his children suffer. We imagine him laughing in heaven as we weep. But it is not so. He knows what we are going through. He cares about our suffering. He feels our pain.
The Bible says God allows our pain for a purpose. Verses 24 and 25 tell us that through our suffering God wants to develop two qualities in us:
Hope
Patience
Hope is that settled confidence that looks to the future, knowing that God will someday keep all his promises. Patience is the ability to endure present hardship because you have hope in the future.
Our suffering teaches us hope and patience–two qualities that can’t be gained any other way. You only hope for that which you do not have. If you have it, you don’t have to hope for it. But if you don’t have it, then hope teaches you to wait patiently for it.
What is it that we are waiting for? Paul calls it “our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” We’re waiting for the day when our bodies will be redeemed, when we can turn in the old model and get a brand new one from the Lord. In that day we will be adopted as sons. We will enter into our full legal standing as the children of God. Right now we are children of God living in decaying bodies. You can’t tell by the outside who we are on the inside. We look like everyone else. We get sick, our bodies decay, we eventually die. But because we are related to Jesus Christ, we will someday be given a body like his–incorruptible, immortal, undying. We don’t have it yet, but we’re eagerly waiting for that day to come.
Our bodies wear out, they sag, they expand, they wrinkle, the joints get creaky, the arteries harden, the heart slows down, the eyes grow dim, the teeth fall out, the back is stooped, the arms grow weary. Our bones break, our muscles weaken. The body bulges in the wrong places. It happens to all of us sooner or later.
There is coming a day when your body won’t need changing. You won’t grow old and you won’t get cancer. Jesus Christ will give you a brand new body. Until then we live in hope, waiting patiently for that day to come.
That perspective explains so much that happens to us. God is weaning you away from putting your hope in the things of this world so that your hope will be in him alone. The only way he can wean you away from the things of this world is through suffering and difficulty. He brings you to the place where you must say, “Lord, it’s you and you alone." He’s teaching you to wait on God. Right now you’re trying to scheme your way into a better situation. But eventually you’ll say, “Lord, if it takes forever, go ahead. Take your time. My hope is in you.”
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