By Audrey Bauman

Romans 12: 12     (NLT)

^“ Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” 

Here is another challenge.  First Paul tells us to be “patient in trouble”.  This is really hard especially if you are prone to worrying and anxiety like me.  When trouble hits, my stomach starts to rebel. That happens even before I realize I’m worried.  So how do you develop that patience when things aren’t going the way you want?  

First of all, Paul says to “rejoice in our confident hope”.  What does that mean?  I think it tells us that we need to keep our perspective fixed on what we’ve learned in the first chapters of Romans.  We need to remember that God loves us dearly and that the Holy Spirit is living within us helping us to grow in our faith, and is praying for us at all times.  We need to remember that God’s acceptance is not based on how well we do, but on Jesus’ sacrifice for us.  So if we’ve messed up, or if things that are not our fault drop painfully into our laps, we don’t have to worry or wonder if God still loves us.  

This verse also tells us to keep on praying. Does prayer really work - keep us from falling apart? I was raised in a Christian home, and I became a Christ follower when I was 12 years old. My life growing up was very involved in our church, and my parents made sure we understood our faith. It became just a way of life for me. If you'd asked me in the first 30 years of my life if I was a Christian, I would have said "of course". Looking back I realize it was a way of life I was used to, not really a good relationship with God personally. Prayer was not an everyday thing in my life.

One advantage to being an “old lady” is the experience I’ve gained in getting there.  My life has had wonderful times and some really hard times.  In my twenties, I was married and teaching and having a fabulous time in all sorts of extracurricular activities, and I loved the English department and our department head and all his creative ideas.   Then I had kids!  

At the same time, my husband got involved in the turbulent times as the chief negotiator for the secondary teachers when teachers were constantly on strike. I felt like a single parent as he had work days that often lasted until the wee hours of the morning – first at school and then at the federation office.  I was angry and depressed, and not very happy with the way things were going in my life. When I look back, I realize that my real life with God started then.  Up to then, I believed in God but was doing fine on my own power.  But then I faced for the first time, situations beyond my control that really bothered me.  That was when I started to read my Bible daily and develop a prayer life.  

Then when Wayne’s health started to become an issue, God began to become even more real and present to me.  That’s when I started to pray through my day when I felt the anxiety starting to bubble up.  And that’s when I started to realize that when I prayed, a calm started to relax my body.   I wouldn’t wish serious health issues in a family on anyone, but I also have to admit that those times were when I became convinced that God was with me without a doubt.  I still tend to experience panic first, but I also pray right away, and it does make a difference.

So ... ^“ Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying”, is not impossible.  It’s a big challenge, but it’s not impossible.  My prayer for you is that as you face difficulties, you will understand this verse more, that you won’t become bitter, but will learn to be patient and hopeful.

Our song for today is Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher.