Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
My friends say that I have a calm, comforting voice. Despite the amount of confidence I actually have in my words, I have the ability to bring peace to a situation and point toward a glimmer of hope. I guess it’s a spiritual gift. But my pep talks have nothing on the encouragement we receive from Paul in today’s passage.
“Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame…”
Imagine that suffering is the entrance to a thick, overgrown forest, and hope is at the clearing. I really want to write to you from the other side today. I want to be the wise, experienced friend who made it out of the woods, beckoning you to meet me here. In actuality, I’m reporting to you live from the thick of it.
The word “reconciliation” at the end of verse 11 is bittersweet for me. While here it refers to the beautiful communion we have with God because of the work of Christ, I can’t help but wish it were also a reality for some strained relationships in my life, especially around the holidays. Maybe you’re there, too, and if you thought you were the only one, then, “Hello, my name is Kelsey, and I’m having myself a messy little Christmas.”
But, back to business. This passage is for us. While we were weak, while we were lost, while we were enemies of God, He came to us. We are justified. We have peace with God, which is not only a subjective feeling but an objective reality! See, because of what He’s done, we can trust not only in the legal standing we now receive but also in our freedom from condemnation when we one day stand before God.
If you’re waiting for your own relationships, struggles, or uncertainties to be resolved, take heart in this: Jesus Himself took the same journey. The path isn’t easy, and there are some things in our lives that may not be resolved on this side of heaven. But when it comes to salvation, we can rejoice; if we are reconciled by His death, how much more will we be saved by His life?
Advent is about waiting – not from the finish line, but from the thick of it. Whether in a season of suffering, endurance, character-building, or somewhere in between, we band together, remain faithful, and look toward hope - and His name is Jesus.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.