Thank you to Pat for this week’s MWB
The Holy Spirit and God’s love in our hearts
Do you feel peaceful? Or are there things that are troubling you or that you’re struggling with at the moment?
Read Romans 5: 1 – 5, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Paul presents the apparent paradox of suffering and hope through the sequence of faith building characteristics – suffering – perseverance – character – hope – showing there can be meaning in the darkest and most difficult scenarios of life. We can have peace if we are confident that God is in control and that he loves us, no matter what is happening around us. It’s a peace that stems from faith that trusts in God who pours his love into our hearts, and gives us the Holy Spirit. I particularly like the idea of standing in v, 2, standing firm before a sovereign God in the midst of the storms of life. Suffering is not a sign that God is not with us or does not love us, it’s a sign that our world is not as it should be, it’s the reason God sent his son Jesus to die for us to bring us forgiveness and salvation.
God can and will bring growth through the challenges we face and enable us to realise his purposes in it – perhaps not at the time but with time.If we trust God and seek the power of the Holy Spirit we can move forward with confidence and see God transforming suffering into an opportunity for spiritual growth. There is a chain reaction through each and every situation of our lives. The Holy Spirit actively works in and through us, confirming God’s love to us, sustaining us and giving us hope, even in the midst of suffering.
So these verses offer us a message of peace, hope and perseverance through all our Christian journey, the ‘highs’ and especially the ‘lows’. Even when we get it wrong and doubt, we are not put to shame – but can know that we are loved fully by God.
Pray for anyone you know, or yourself, who is struggling in difficult circumstances in life, pray that God would pour his love into their hearts and that they would know his peace and have hope. Pray they can stand firm through the storms of life.
Pray for patience as we wait for prayers to be answered; for ourselves, our church and our world