Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. But just how can we persevere in tribulations? We do it by rejoicing in hope, and being devoted to prayer.
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How To Persevere In Tribulation
Romans 12:12
We come again this morning to Romans 12, to meditate on three more exhortations that the apostle Paul gave to the Roman believers. “Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.” When I looked this verse up in a Greek Interlinear version, this is how the passage reads – “In hope, rejoicing – In tribulation, persevering – In prayer, steadfastly continuing.” Paul is exhorting us this morning in three areas of our Christian life – Hope, Tribulation, and Prayer.
At first reading, it sounds like these exhortations are just tossed out at random, with no relationship to those that come before or after them. However, after reading over the passage several times, I think that there is a connection in these three exhortations.
The main idea is connected to the central exhortation – “persevering in tribulation.” But how are we to persevere in tribulation? If tribulation can be likened to a disease, what is the medicine? Rejoicing in hope, and being devoted to prayer. If we are ever to endure through the sufferings, afflictions and tribulations of our Christian life, we need to rejoice in hope and be devoted to prayer.
This morning, we will begin by meditating on the idea of persevering in tribulation, and then on how we can do that – by rejoicing in hope and being devoted to prayer.
1. Persevering In Tribulation
Persevering. This word is a compound word in the Greek, hupomeno. Hupo means “under.” “Meno” means “to abide.” Thus, the word means “to abide under, or to remain under.” This is the opposite of giving up when things get hard and throwing in the towel, and saying “I quit.” Sometimes the Christian life is very hard and painful, and it can be tempting to say that we just can’t handle the tribulations which come along with the Christian life. But Paul’s exhortation is to remain under those tribulations. He is calling us to persevere through them, and endure them, until God delivers us from them, or we are delivered from this world and stand before Him face to face. Charles Spurgeon once quipped, “by perseverance the snail reached the ark.” He just kept at it and refused to give up.
Tribulation. This word literally means “to press, or a pressure.” It refers to a crushing pressing circumstance. When I was a boy I saw a black jaguar fight a giant python to the death. The python wrapped itself around the jaguar and squeezed it. I forget now who won the battle, but that picture of that big cat getting its life squeezed out of it comes to mind when I think of tribulations. These tribulations are not the kind when your favorite ice cream is sold out at Baskin Robbins. These tribulations mean affliction, great difficulty, and suffering.
Many Believers Are Surprised and Confused by Tribulations. Sometimes I hear believers say something like, “I just don’t understand. He loves the Lord so much, and is in the Word every day, and is the first one to volunteer whenever there is a need. Why would God allow him to suffer like this?” They expect that if a person serves the Lord with all his heart, God will protect him and make him immune from suffering. That is not what the Bible teaches! 1 Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you…”
Just consider the great men of faith and godliness throughout history:
Job. We are told that Job was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Yet Job suffered the death of all his children, his servants, his cattle and livestock. He lost all his wealth and his family, except for his wife, and she was a great trial to him! He also lost his good health, having terrible boils break out all over his body.
John the Baptist. Consider John, the bold thundering preacher. Jesus said that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet, John was arrested for rebuking Herod, thrown into prison, and then beheaded.
The Apostle Paul. Few men in history could ever compare with the zeal and devotion of Paul for Christ, wouldn’t you agree? Yet what was his life like? Well, he tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27; “in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” Paul’s life was riddled with tribulations.
Jesus Christ. Here was the holy, blameless, spotless Son of God. In Him there was no sin. So, did he have a carefree life? He was mocked, blasphemed, persecuted, beaten, spit on, whipped, and crucified. My friend, are you greater than your Lord? Jesus said in John 15:20, “A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”
Jesus taught in John 16:33, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Paul taught us in Acts 14:22, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Brothers and sisters, do not be surprised at the tribulations that God has strewn in your path that you will have to walk in. They are part and parcel of the Christian life. The fact that you are experiencing pain or tribulations does not mean that God must be punishing you for some sin in your life. This is just Normal Christianity.
Now, my question to you is this? How can we endure and remain under these tribulations without fainting, giving up, or grumbling and complaining. How can we emerge victorious through the tribulations that God ordains for our lives? I believe that is answered at the beginning of this verse, and at the end. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, through Hope and Prayer.
2. Rejoicing In Hope
Hope. What is our Biblical hope? What is Paul referring to? Let’s see what the New Testament says about our hope.
Acts 24:15, “having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”
Romans 5:2, “through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 8:19-25, “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
Galatians 5:5, “For we, through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”
Ephesians 1:18, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…”
Colossians 1:5, “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.”
Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Titus 1:2, “in the hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie promised long ages ago.”
Titus 2:13, “looking for the blessed hope, and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”
Titus 3:7, “so that being justified by His grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
1 Peter 1:13, “fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
1 John 3:2-3, “We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself just as He is pure.”
So, how would we sum up our Biblical hope? It is the future glory of God that we will enjoy, including our resurrection from the dead, the coming of Jesus Christ, being like Christ, righteousness, eternal life, our eternal inheritance, the creation being set free from corruption, and we being revealed as the sons of God. In a word, it is the glory of God.
Rejoicing. When we consider all that God has prepared for those who love Him, the only possible response is JOY! And the beautiful thing about this joy is that we can experience it always, because our Hope is sure and certain and never changes. If our Hope was fickle and uncertain, depending on our performance, then our joy would fluctuate from day to day. Some days it could be strong and other days it could be weak. But if our joy is in what God has promised us in Christ, we can always rejoice. No wonder Paul could write to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). No wonder Paul could say about himself in 2 Corinthians 6:10 “as sorrowful yet always rejoicing.” Our joy does not depend on our present, day to day circumstances. It is fixed on our eternal Hope that never changes, falters or fails. This is what Paul meant back in Romans 5:2 where he wrote, “we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
Our rejoicing in our future Hope, allows us to triumph over our tribulations. Someone once remarked to a gallant sufferer, “suffering colors all of life, doesn’t it?” The suffering person replied, “Yes, but I propose to choose the color.” I recently learned of the life of Fanny Crosby. When she was only six weeks old she contracted an eye infection. Their usual doctor was away, and so they sought the help of another man who pretended to be a certified doctor. He applied a hot mustard poultice to her eyes, which left her blind for the rest of her life.
“I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when he showered so many other gifts upon you,” remarked one well-meaning preacher. Fanny Crosby responded at once, as she had heard such comments before. “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind?” said the poet, “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”
Imagine the man in 1849 who caught Gold Fever, and traveled from the East coast to California on foot. His journey would take at least six months. It was fraught with dangers from wild Indians, heat exhaustion, lack of food and water. Many people died along the trail, never even making it to California. What kept that man going day after day in the midst of his great sufferings? How was he able to endure the difficulties and sufferings? The hope of striking it rich! What keeps us going in the midst of our trials and tribulations? The knowledge that we are headed for eternal glory.
I remember when we lived in the mountains above Sonora, I would drive down to Modesto to do some window cleaning accounts. During the winter there would sometimes be a really thick fog down there, and it was extremely gloomy. But when I drove back home, as I rose in elevation at some point, I would break through the fog, and it would be a glorious sunny day! The sun was still shining all the time. I just couldn’t see it. So too, even when our trials and tribulations are grievous and vexing, God is still good and glorious and great, and has unimaginable blessings in store for me!
When Peter wrote to believers who were suffering, he said, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:10). He also wrote in the same letter, “fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13).
Saints, you are going to inherit the Kingdom! You are going to heaven! You are going to see and worship and serve Christ, face to face! Let those truths cause you to rejoice and endure any tribulations you must experience now. The joy of the Lord is our strength!
3. Devoted To Prayer
Devoted. This word is the same word we find in Acts 2:42 where it says, “And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” The KJV puts it like this, “and they continued steadfastly in…” We could translate this literally as, “In prayer, continuing steadfastly.” It contains both the ideas of persevering in prayer and being devoted to prayer. We must be constant in prayer, continue in it, not set it aside or faint in it. And at the same time we must be devoted to it, making it a priority in our lives. When a mother is devoted to her baby, she checks on him regularly throughout the day, and attends to his needs diligently. We should have a similar devotion to prayer.
Why Would Paul Exhort Us To Be Devoted To Prayer? Because he knows in our weakness, it is so easy to neglect it! William Barclay wrote, “We are to persevere in prayer. Is it not the case that there are times in life when we let day add itself to day and week to week, and we never speak to God? When a man ceases to pray, he despoils himself of the strength of Almighty God. No man should be surprised when life collapses if he insists on living it alone.”
Nothing is more vital in the Christian life than prayer, and nothing is more apt to be neglected.
William MacDonald wrote, “When we pray in the Name of the Lord Jesus, we come the closest to omnipotence that it is possible for mortal man to come. Therefore we do ourselves a great disservice when we neglect to pray.”
Why Is Prayer Mentioned Right After Persevering in Tribulations? I think the answer is obvious. Paul is telling us how to persevere in tribulations. Not only must we find our joy in our Hope of eternal glory in the future. We must also be devoted to prayer here and now in the midst of our trials.
So, when you are going through tribulations, pray! Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
This devotion to prayer was modeled by the early believers in the book of Acts. When the 120 were waiting in the upper room in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father, we read in Acts 1:14, “these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer.” Later in Acts 2:42, “they were continually devoting themselves to prayer.” When the apostles had chosen and ordained seven men to serve the Hellenistic Jews they said in Acts 6:4, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer.” Paul wrote in Col. 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Paul also wrote in Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
Conclusion
And so, brothers and sisters, let’s examine ourselves to see if we are obeying these Biblical exhortations.
- Are you persevering in tribulations? Are you becoming weak and tired and ready to give up, or are you patiently and calmly waiting on the Lord to fulfill His purposes?
- Are you rejoicing in Hope? When you find yourselves getting down and blue, do you remind yourself that all you are seeing around you is temporary, and that you are headed to be with Christ in glory forever? I encourage those of you who are prone to depression, to preach to yourself. Tell yourself what you know to be true. Speak of the promises of your eternal inheritance, eternal life, the glory of God, the resurrection of the body, and life with Christ in heaven.
- Are you devoted to prayer? As Voddie Baucham likes to say, “If you can’t say “Amen, you gotta say Ouch!” How many would have to say “Ouch!” This is probably the one exhortation among these three, that most of us would say we are not doing well. Well, that can change, starting today. Being devoted to prayer is something we can change by making it high priority in our lives. Often we discover that things that should be high priority are not. The Word of God is calling us to make prayer high priority. Let’s do that. All of us must figure out how we are going to do that. I encourage you right now to think this through. How can you be continually devoted to prayer. Begin today.
Let’s pray.
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