Well, welcome back again to another podcast of Struggling Well and We're going to start with a verse in Romans 8 that I think is one
I just love the way you jump in.
Can I just say that? I mean, it's like
no preamble, no like, you know, it's just the difference between you and me. I'd give like a 20 minute story as to why we're actually here again today.
Yeah.
But you just jump in.
I do.
It's the It's us.
It is us. So, my point was I think I remember my point. the verse we're going to talk about to start today is one of the reasons why It's one of the verses in the New Testament why we entitled this podcast Struggling Well and why we believe that life has its struggles because Paul says in Romans 8:16, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us." life is a struggle and we will struggle in this life and that's the whole idea behind this podcast, struggling Well, and so Romans 8:16 is just one of the verses. I mean, there are verses in James, there are verses in many places in the New Testament that talk about the fact that this world and this life is going to be hard at times. and it's not to say that every day is a struggle, but there's a lot of struggles in this world because we're waiting for something
and we don't like to at least I don't like to feel suffering. I don't want to I don't like to struggle really well. I'm not super confrontational. So that doesn't float my boat when that happens. And I feel like I'm not even when I use the word confrontational, I mean that with respect, not with disrespect. But even with the Lord, I don't feel like I do well with confronting him with where I am struggling
because I don't understand why it's happening. And I and most of the times it feels like you could do something here. Why don't you do something? something.
Yeah. And the other part of that, Suzi, in verse 16 is that we
Do you mean 18?
No, 16 or 18. What is I don't know. I can't read here. 18.
You don't have Romans memorized.
No, I don't. It's 18. I'm sorry. My eyes aren't working this morning. we know and have walked through many people's struggles and sufferings that are extremely hard.
Yeah.
And yet Paul says here that it's not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed. And it's like I can't get my mind around what that glory is going to look like. If the difficulties of this world are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed, then the glory to be revealed has got to be amazing.
Yeah. But and there's always a but with us because we're human and we're sinful and we think more about ourselves than anything else. We wonder when we're in the of struggle. like why there's not relief and when you tell me but the weight of glory is working something in me that is far beyond I think but right now it hurts so much and I don't feel like I can make it through this.
Yeah. But he goes on to talk about it's not just us as people who are created in the image of God. All of creation all this world all of creation is groaning, longing for that, eagerly longing for that day when it's all made right.
can I read something from a study that I'm working with right now doing? Of course, you know, I'm going to
Is that a question you're asking?
Never. I'm just It's kind of rhetorical. Yes, it is. You know, 48 years of marriage. A lot of rhetoric for me. before I go to the actual quote, I want to tell you about a couple of resources that I've been using as I've studied Romans. And one is called Roman Romans, the gospel- centered life. And it's a study of Romans and they do a lot of other books of the Bible as well. And I have found that the study is doable. it doesn't insult your intelligence by asking you a question and then answering it right away. It's a really good study. They do one for men and one for women. And I think the only difference will be the pictures inside, not the content, but the woman who wrote this is what she says about suffering. Paul emphatically tells us that the sufferings that we are facing though painful and real are not even comparable to the glory that awaits the children of God. Now Paul does not deny the pain of suffering but he does put it into perspective. He tells us there is no comparison between what we face now and what awaits us. And that's hard. It's really hard. He is expounding upon the words that he wrote in Romans 5 1-5 when he assured us that we can rejoice in our sufferings because they're working in us and producing a hope that will never be put to shame and he talks about she talks about also that the fact that this weight of glory if you were to put our sufferings on a scale and the weight of glory on the other side the weight of glory the whole hope in Jesus the hope in the future that waits for us it would tip the scale that it can't even be compared to our sufferings. The hard part is when you're in the midst of suffering to raise your eyes, raise your heart to say, "Okay, there's glory ahead." And there's glory maybe now that will tip the scales. But I don't know about you all that are listening, that's tough when you are watching someone you love suffer. or you are suffering whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, in any way. that's a struggle. It is. And the perspective of eternity, which is what we're talking about when we talk about the hope of glory. the perspective of eternity cannot be separated from the world we live in as followers of Christ. If there was not a future glory, if there was not a future that he's going to make all things right and redemption will be complete not only for us but for the whole world. then there would be there wouldn't be any sense in what we're doing in terms of following him. But Paul makes it clear that the perspective of eternity has to be kept in view when we're going through the struggles of this life. And that's what you said is it's hard to do because it's hard to me to lift my eyes enough to see and be reminded of that eternal reward that will be there. and that's what makes this so, fascinating the way he sets it all up the because all of creation is groaning. He says
it's not just us. So when we look at the world and we look at the natural disasters and we look at all the things that maybe don't even have anything to do with humans, all of creation is groaning because it knows there's a day that's coming when the curse will be lifted off of it as well.
NT Wright in his Bible study in Romans says this, the whole created order shows the effect of the sin found in Genesis 3. And God always intended to put the world back right. That is the vision that Paul opens up to us here in Romans 8. The whole creation is waiting on tiptoe with expectation. In fact, for the freedom it will enjoy when God gives his children the glory of wise rule and stewardship of the creation, which he always intended. And when Ent Wright uses the phrase, they're waiting on metaphorical tiptoe. I think about when I was a kid, And we used to go to the Fourth of July parade in the small town I came from in New Jersey. And you know, I was little and I wanted to see everything. And if we weren't on the front row, I would have to get up either on my dad's shoulders and then when I was like 13, 14, that was not doable. But as I watched this parade and I knew what was coming is I would be eagerly looking for what was coming next and I'd stand on tiptoe and my neck would be strained. We went to wedding this weekend where the as the bride was coming down the aisle, I watched people as they literally strained their necks to see her.
And that's the position our heart should be in that we're straining and we're waiting not just because we want to get out of this awful world, but we but most I mean 100% because we want to be with him. We want to be we want him to come for us. We yearn for the new heavens and the new earth and we yearn to be with him and what happens with that yearning in us? That's a question for me.
Yeah. And I think that you know when you get down to verse 23, he talks about that we grown eagerly inwardly eagerly for the adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies. And that's what Paul has been battling through in chapter 7 and chapter 8. The fact that there's this war that still goes on inside of us cuz our bodies have not yet been redeemed. They will be redeemed either when I go to be with him in heaven or he comes back, whichever comes first. And then he says in verse 24, for in this hope we were saved. And so the hope is found in the completion of everything God has begun through his son Jesus.
In 25 he says, "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." And the message puts it this way, and I love this. that is why waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. The longer we wait, the more joyful our expectancy.
Yeah. And that's where he then turns back to us, not just all of creation when he says that the spirit helps us in our weakness. Verse 26, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself intercedes with groaning. means too deep for words. So even in my lack of the ability to make sense of what I'm going through, my the lack of my ability to live in this world with all of its upheaval and its sufferings, and I don't know how to pray, I'm not left alone because he says that the spirit will intercede.
Verse 27 again in the message says, "The moment we get tired in the waiting, God's spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does. He does our praying, making prayer out of our wordless size and aching groans. And I'm so thankful for that because so many times we all get hung up on prayer anyway. we know people that we would call that old phrase from back in our day prayer warriors, but they pray and they just it's natural for them. Well, it's not so natural for me all the time. You would think it would be. because I'm such a big talker, but I find myself shy around God. And I know so much of my background of not asking anybody for anything just the way I was raised. it comes into play with God as well. So to know that the spirit is interceding and that Jesus is at the right hand of the father interceding that doesn't mean I am not to be interceding and praying, but there's great comfort there because God knows the mind of the spirit. I mean, the trinity, they know what to
right
what we need.
Yeah. And so, if I put a kind of a wrap on this today, it would be as you walk through this world and there are sufferings that you may be going through maybe right now and you're in the midst of some of that in your own life. please know this, you're never alone.
Because first of all, there is the hope of eternity and we look forward to that even though we can't fully comprehend how glorious it will be. But in the midst of waiting and eagerly waiting and patiently waiting, he's given us the spirit who lives within us who makes intercession on our behalf when we don't know how to pray. So our prayer for you today is if you're in the midst of those times and you're feeling all alone or you're struggling deeply, keep sight of eternity and the hope that is there and know that the spirit walks in you and will intercede for you when you don't know how to pray.
Amen, brother.
Mhm.