Rejoice, Endure, Pray

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12 (ESV)

This verse falls in the middle of  Paul’s discourse on various characteristics of true Christians. It struck me as I read it that these 3 characteristics are all rooted in the sovereignty of God. In this list and especially with these three characteristics, Paul is not calling for the Christian to work harder or put more effort into it. Rather he is encouraging the Roman believers and us to trust the God of our salvation.

What hope should we rejoice in? The hope that God is making all things new. We really do have a bright future in Christ. God not only can, but will deliver on his promise of eternal life. Being patient or enduring testing means we “remain under” the testing. It’s not walking around with a pasted on grin but rather accepting that God is using every circumstance in life, both the good and the bad, for our ultimate good. Interestingly enough that ultimate good God is working through testing is rooted in the same hope we are to rejoice in…When we are like Christ because we see him face to face! He ends the verse with a call to prayer. Why pray if God can’t do what he says he can? The praying Christian is acknowledging that God is in control.

Paul’s list of Christian traits in Romans 12 is long, but these 3 are the bedrock of our Christian walk. We are to be rejoicing, enduring, and praying and we do this only with the help of God's Spirit living in us.