I have so many things running through my mind to write about. But this is what I’m pondering at the moment. I have been contemplating writing about life as a wilderness for a while now. I’m not exactly sure where to go with that other than I think most of life is a wilderness (in some way). Then I was reading yesterday and the verse that stood out was Rom. 12:12,
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
I had to read the notes at the bottom and it said this, “Be joyful in hope. The certainty of the Christian’s hope is a cause for joy. patient. Enduring triumphantly–necessary for Christians, because affliction is their inevitable experience. faithful in prayer. One must not only pray in hard times, but also maintain communion with God through prayer at all times.
Okay, so first, I don’t think I know how to endure triumphantly. That sounds glorious to endure triumphantly. I think I stumble along most days trying to figure that out. Then it goes on to say affliction is their inevitable experience. Doesn’t that sound wonderful to you? I had to look up affliction just to make sure I understood what my inevitable experience will look like and it said, a condition of great distress, pain, or suffering. It can be caused by many things, grief, physical illness, etc. Okay so that confirmed my theory that life is in fact a wilderness. Then we are to be faithful in prayer. I don’t struggle with that one. I can pray, but it’s just continuing to believe that God is good when I don’t see the answer I want, the affliction subside and as a result don’t feel triumphant. Whew.
I know that there is so much more to this verse, the chapter, the big picture. I’m just beginning to process. What are your thoughts on it? Do you think life is a wilderness?