If reading the Bible doesn’t bring you hope, you are doing it wrong. Todays verse of the day is Romans 15:4 NLT, “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” There are a few key truths for us to unpack here.
First, God’s Word is a gift to teach us. We should be learning when we read. What we should be learning is how to become Jesus Followers. Learning facts and things about God is not the purpose of God’s Word; being in restored relationship with God is.
Next, we learn that God wants us to receive hope and encouragement as we read His Word and learn how to be in relationship with Him. If those those things aren’t happening, then something is wrong in the process. It could be we are more interested in learning about God then knowing Him. It could also mean we are bringing some hurt, sin, or problem to our relationship with God that needs to be addressed. The closer we get to God, the more we need to allow God to reveal and heal what’s broken in us. His holiness and our problems cannot coexist. The beautiful thing about Jesus is, rather than condemning our failures, He redeems us so we can take that next step closer to Him.
Our role in Romans 15:4 is to learn and to be patient. Getting impatient can quickly move us out of the place we need to be in order to draw close to God. When was the last time you were impatient, rushed someone who was trying to encourage you, and it worked? Have you ever walked away from being impatient feeling restored or refreshed? No. We may have reached our deadline, but we are always glad the rushing is over.
Last, our verse reminds us that God’s promises will be fulfilled. If God promised it, it will happen. We may need to remind ourselves of those promises and fight for them, but they will happen!