“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12

God expects His children to rest in His promises because they are Yea and Amen. He says in Jeremiah that His desire is to save us from harm and give us a prosperous future. However, life can sometimes be unpredictable. The difficulty that comes our way can push us to the point of doubt. We stop attending fellowships, we stop praying and lose hope, but that is not what God expects us to do in the face of difficulties.

When we are at our wits end, God expects us to do three things, as mentioned in Romans 12:12. The first thing is not to lose our joy, he says we should rejoice in hope. We have to be happy for the mere fact that eventually everything will be fine, and He will do us good. Scripture assures us that all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord, those that have been called according to His purpose. Your role here is to keep trusting and believing, He will fulfill His by getting you over the line.

The second thing God expects us to do in our bad times is to be patient. Long suffering is one of the mark of a committed disciple and fruit of the spirit, the ability to endure hardship and still be committed to God is something we all have to strive towards.

Lastly, He expects us to keep praying. Only through prayer will our communication with him not cease, he wants to hear from us as often as possible, regardless of what we’re going through. We learned a few days ago how Jesus used the parable or the judge and the widow to inculcate in our hearts the need to be steadfast in prayer.

It is important that we seek the face of the Lord to build us up in these three facets, so we can stand for Him at all times.

Prayer point
Father, restore the joy of our salvation, may anyone among us who is losing their joy have it restored in Jesus name.

Give us the grace to be patient and endure whatever life throws at us, while we wait silently for your salvation

Father, give us a steadfast heart to be consistent in prayer, Amen!