For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4
If we are struggling to live from hope, take a look at Paul’s encouragement to the Romans was to look to the Scriptures to find it. The record of testimony to the LORD’s faithfulness to the people of Israel strengthens our hope today. In the Scriptures, Paul tells us we can find patience. In the Scriptures, Paul exhorts us that we can find comfort.
In his letter to the community of faith in Jesus in Galatia, Paul tells them that patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Patience is the by-product of our character having been re-formed by the indwelling Spirit of the living God. We can lean on the Holy Spirit for patience. And we can feed the activity of that Spirit in us with the Scriptures. We can look to the Scriptures to build up patience in us – a patience that leads to hope.
In the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, the prophet cries out,ינחמו עמ נחמו – nachamu, nachamu ami – “comfort, comfort my people!” in the voice of the LORD (Isaiah 40:1). So often, the lives we lead are filled with trauma and doubt and hardship. Jesus tells us, “blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Paul is telling us, when we are in need of comfort, let us look to the Scriptures. Page after page and story after story declares the goodness of the God we serve. Look to the Scriptures and find comfort today!
Are you struggling to find hope? Look to the Scriptures, which were written for our learning, that you might find their comfort and that your patience might be built up. With patience and comfort reinforced in us, we can be built up in hope!
ACTIVATION:
What jumped out as you were reading about comfort? How can the things that you read be applied to the area of comfort that you seek?
For the past nine weeks, as the coronavirus upended the world with fear, stay-at-home mandates, financial loss and isolation, we’ve turned to Scripture for the hope we each need to endure rough times.
Ancient Israel had a hope: to return to the Land God had promised to give her. Yet, she had been in exile in Babylon for so long that I’m sure the hope of many began to wane, if not completely disappear.
Our God is the Master Composer. The intricacies He has purposefully arranged on His grand scale of time are often indistinguishable to the human ear, unless we strain to hear. As we journey through the story of Ezra-Nehemiah in the days ahead, listen in for a pattern, a 3-part harmony, as God composes another movement in His song through the mouths of His prophets. See if you can make out the sounds.
The words God gave to His prophets often told about events in the current time, near future and a time even further in the future. They are always pointing us forward, but what were they pointing us forward to?
