I am waiting on the Lord for something that feels impossible. Are you? I have been struggling to hold onto hope in the midst of the waiting. Struggling. Today we will explore Romans 8:25 and see how to keep waiting in hope with perseverance even when it feels like we are failing… like everything is falling apart… like if God doesn’t step in we will lose everything.
“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:25 NKJV)
What Does it Mean to Wait in Hope?
Waiting in hope is challenging. Waiting brings suffering, trials, and hardships. None of those things are easy or simple to walk through while holding onto hope.
So what does it mean to wait in hope? Waiting in hope is about looking beyond the hard time you are facing today to the promises of God you know are coming.
Waiting For God To Be Glorified
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18 NKJV)
Romans 8:18 says that suffering now while we wait is nothing because He is receiving glory. How is He receiving glory?
The hardship in waiting is often persecution because of faith in God through Jesus. Persecution for your faith happens when you choose to do things God’s way, and life gets harder. When we choose God’s way, when we wait on the Lord, people judge us, criticize us, and accuse us. This is a form of persecution.
When we are waiting in hope, even in the face of hardship, God gets the glory.
Eternal Perspective
How do you keep hope alive? Hope when facing infertility, or loneliness or loss or fear or uncertainty or abuse or abandonment or infidelity or betrayal or any other hopeless situation comes when we fix our eyes on Jesus.
What can you hold onto when you are waiting in hope for thigns that feel impossible here and now?
We are all waiting for eternal things that are promised:
- Christ’s return.
- God’s ultimate glory.
- A new heaven, a new earth, and new bodies.
These are the things we know will come one day. These are the things that fill us with hope as we struggle with sinful people, impossible situations, and uncertainty about earthly things.
12 Ways to Hold On To Hope – When You Are Failing At Waiting in Hope: Romans 8:25 Share on XWhat Does Waiting in Hope Mean?
When we are waiting on the Lord and trying to wait in hope, we need more than wishes and prayers.
Hope while waiting requires and leads to perseverance. What is perseverance?
- Perseverance means not giving up no matter the difficulties or the delay.
- Hope does not give up.
- Hope faces the difficulties and delays with faith and fearless trust in the God of the impossible!
- Hope does not give up.
Perseverance is how we can keep waiting in hope as life gets harder, and people are critical, and nothing seems to be going the way you expected.
Hope For What We Do Not See While Waiting on The Lord
Persevering, not giving up regardless of the difficulties and delays, is tough. Why is it tough? We can not see what we are waiting on. Not only that, we don’t know if what we think we are waiting in hope for… is what the Lord has in mind.
We are waiting for what we do not see.
“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Romans 8:24-25 NKJV)
What Are We Waiting For Specifically?
There are several things I am waiting in hope for the Lord to do, areas where I need Him to move, and answers I need for direction. I know He said to wait.
There are other things, however, that the Bible clearly tells us we are all waiting for.
We wait in hope for all the things Romans 8:18-25 allude to:
- God’s return.
- Suffering to end.
- Freedom from the bondage that tries to hold us.
- Abundant life (John 10:10).
We wait with perseverance – not giving up no matter the difficulty or delay, which requires hope.
Waiting in Hope for Abundant Life
Most of what I am waiting for the Lord to do falls under the category of abundant life. These are things I believe are in line with God’s will for me or my family or my loved ones.
This is where I am failing to keep holding onto hope.
One area where I have specifically been waiting on the Lord is healing in my marriage. I heard Him say wait, pray, trust and give it all to Him. Now we are in crisis mode, and I am struggling to keep waiting, struggling to keep hoping. Waiting in hope, when all evidence suggests it’s hopeless, is a test of faith.
Related Post: Biblical Separation in Marriage: Finding Hope
Sarah’s Laughter
When I think about waiting in hope for things that are impossible to mere humans, I am reminded of Sarah and Abraham. In Genesis 18:10-15 God promised them a child. That was impossible given their age and struggles with fertility.
Sarah, knowing it was impossible, laughted and reminded herself of all the reasons she could never have a child.
- She was baren.
- She was past the age of fertility even if she had not already been baren.
- Abraham was too old to still be fertile.
- They had tried and failed to have children in the past.
- They were even too old to enjoy sexual intimacy.
Sarah’s laughter was the correct response any one of us would have had when given a promise that impossible. But God… With God, nothing is impossible. With God, what human logic can not see, is possible supernaturally.
When you are struggling to wait in hope, remember Isaac, the impossible child implanted in a baren womb by a God who cares, a God who sees and a God for whom NOTHING is impossible.
How To Keep Waiting in Hope When All Feels Hopeless
We started this devotional by answering the question: What verse is waiting in hope? Romans 8:25 says to “wait in hope with perseverance”. That verse says so much, but if we explore the rest of Romans 8 we see several practical ways to keep hope while we wait!
I love practical ways to apply the Scripture to our everyday lives. These are the 12 ways to keep waiting in hope:
- Do not accept condemnation.
- Claim life and peace.
- Use the power of Christ in you
- Wait for and in the Holy Spirit.
- Walk as an adopted child of the King of kings.
- Remember God’s goodness.
- Remember invisible things.
- Accept help in prayer.
- Know that all things work together for good.
- Remember God is for you.
- Live as more than a conquerer.
- Know that nothing can separate you from the Lord.
1. Do Not Accept Condemnation (:1)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 NKJV)
Condemnation is what we feel while waiting and facing difficulty and delay. We feel condemned by the world, judged, and accused. We feel less than. The condemnation couples with doubt inside our hearts and minds, accusing us from within.
Know this: condemnation is not from Jesus. He does not accuse us while we wait. When the voices from within or from without begin to call you out you have a choice. You can accept the lies of the enemy or you can stand up in the truth.
Did He tell you to wait?
You are not stuck or being lazy, nieve or foolish while waiting if He told you to wait! Believe Him today for the impossible!
2. Claim Life and Peace (:6)
“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 NKJV)
So often, I get stuck and struggle while waiting. Why do I struggle? I want a plan. I want to understand. The situation looks impossible, but maybe if I did this or that or asked them or invited so and so into the situation… I choose the path of the flesh, the path of pride, the path that is carnally minded.
Or, I tune out because the waiting is too hard or is lasting too long. I choose to take my feelings and needs to entertainment or food or people when I know I am supposed to seek the Lord.
When waiting in hope, we have to choose the things of the Spirit, the way of life… abundant life.
Walk in the Spirit and experience life and peace while waiting in hope for what seems impossible.
3. Use The Power Of Christ in You (:11)
“But if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Holy Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11 NKJV)
We often try to push through the hard parts alone, trying to be strong enough to deal with all the things we face. But, we are NOT alone! We have the Holy Spirit living within us. The same power that raised Jesus form the dead lives within us thorugh the Holy Spirit.
Why are we trying to do it all alone?!?!?!
Here’s the thing: everything we think we need to get busy doing, He is already there. He has a plan and will tell us when it’s time to take the next right step. All our business robs us of the peace He has for us. Our busyness, apart from doing exactly what the Lord said to do, is not subjecting or submitting to God.
Verse 8 tells us that it doesn’t please the Lord. We are in the Spirit. His Spirit dwells in us. He will lead us with the same power and authority that raised Jesus from the tomb. Trust Him. Claim that powe in your life!
4. Wait For and in the Holy Spirit (:14)
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14 NKJV)
As New Testament believers, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. Jesus made a big deal about how important it was that He leave so the Spirit would come.
The Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead! He knows the will of God and leads us toward living it out.
Are you willing to be led by the Holy Spirit?
Are you learning to hear His voice? He speaks to us in many ways.
How can we train our ears to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?
Live rightly, the way Scripture tells us to live. To do that, you need to read your BIble often, go to church to hear it taught, and surround yourself with other believers living life in the Spirit.
When you surrender to the Lord and live for Him, you begin to recognize His voice speaking to you. In your quiet time, a verse will jump off the page at you. During a sermon, the preacher will speak to the situation you are praying about. A line in a song will hit hard. A friend will give counsel that speaks to your situation.
He speaks today. Listen! Be patient to wait for His prompting and then be surrendered to be led by the Holy Spirit!
5. Walk As Adopted Children (:15)
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”” (Romans 8:15 NKJV)
While waiting on the Lord, it is easy to feel alone, less than enough, unheard, unseen, and unwanted. The enemy loves to speak lies into our hearts about our identity. They are lies.
God says you are adopted into His family. You can call God daddy.
When you are waiting on God and begin to doubt and fear that He won’t step in, you have to remember who you are.
You are a child of the King of kings. You are a prince or princess in the Kingdom of God. He is yours. You are His. Nothing can change that… oh, I’m getting ahead of myself.
You can wait because you can trust your daddy to take care of you as you walk in and are led by the Holy Spirit.
6. Remember God’s Goodness (:18)
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18 NKJV)
When waiting in hope for situations facing my immediate life I often forget that these are temporary. Temporary being relative to eternity. In another place, the Apostle Paul says our sufferings are light and momentary.
“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison…” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NASB)
God is Good To Limit Suffering
Our sufferings don’t feel light or momentary. I am facing hard things, painful things, things that will forever change the course of our family and my life. How is that light, or momentary?
What we have to remember is that God is good. He didn’t set us on this earth forever, and He is allowing hard things to help grow godly character in our lives. Through the suffering (that only lasts as long as this life, which is short in relation to eternity in heaven with Him), we grow spiritual fruit, we are sanctified and made more holy like God is holy.
God is Good To Help Us Grow
I wish we grew through happy, easy situations. If we could develop the fruit of love while attending ice cream parties and if patience came through days at the park, we would never complain.
The growth we desperately need, however, comes through trials most often. Thankfully trials are a natural part of a fallen world. God doesn’t cause them, but He does allow them to shape our growth when they come. That is part of His goodness.
God is good to us in letting us grow. How is that good? He is with us the entire time. He is helping, protecting, providing, and covering us with His peace throughout the light and momentary affliction.
Remembering the goodness of God helps while waiting in hope!
God Is Good To Have An Eternal Plan
Romans 8:18-25 goes on to say that even the earth is waiting eagerly for Christ to return. Life is hard. Suffering is a real part of this life for us and all of creation. We are longing for they day it all ends and we are with God forever in a place with no more tears or pain.
God has a plan. One day the, clouds will part, and Jesus will step out. The dead in Christ will rise first, and then we will meet them in the sky. On that day, our light and momentary sufferings will end, and we will experience eternity.
Then, we will understand the goodness of God perfectly. Until then, we wait in hope, with perseverance, reminding ourselves that He is good and good is coming.
7. Remember Invisible Things (:24-25)
“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.” (Romans 8:24-25)
What verse is waiting in hope? The verse that brings us to Romans 8 is verse 25. On what are we actually waiting in hope with perseverance?
The invisible God of the universe, who saved us and adopted us and gave us His Spirit to get through this hard life. We wait on Him to lead us, to guide us, to grow us and to one day take us away from all the suffering forever.
We hope in Him, our invisible God, for invisible things we can’t see or touch. It is hope that we have because we can’t see these things, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
God is real. Eternity is real. Keep hoping in Him!
8. Accept Help in Prayer (:26)
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26 NKJV)
Why is it so difficult to wait in hope on the Lord?
Part of my struggle is that I am not sure I am praying for the right thing in the waiting season. When I lose hope, I struggle to know how to pray.
Today, for example. Our marriage is in crisis. I heard the Lord say wait. I thought I was waiting on God to change our situation, heal the broken pieces and bring restoration to our family. Then, crisis hit, and it feels like reconciliation is impossible apart from a miracle.
Did I hear the Lord correctly? Was I supposed to be praying for healing in marriage? Is that what I am still supposed to be praying for?
I don’t know. I feel lost and hopeless because it is completely out of my control.
It is into these moments when we surrender completely to the Holy Spirit. He can pray when all I can do is cry and scream and struggle. When fear and doubt are the swirling storm I can’t get out of, I trust the God is still faithful. He knows what to pray. He knows what He desires in this situation.
Fearless trust allows the Holy Spirit to intercede in prayer when I can’t find the words.
Related post: How God Provides Help With Prayer Through Jesus and The Holy Spirit
9. Keep Waiting in Hope Knowing All Things Work Together For Good (:28)
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)
Whatever the difficult situation is you are facing probably feels impossible. Mine does. There are days it feels like my entire world is falling apart, crumbling around my ears while I stand helpless to effect any change.
In the midst of crisis or trials or suffering it is easy to believe nothing good will come from this situation. How do you keep hope alive when your world is falling apart? Romans 8:28 has to become a rallying cry for the hope the Holy Spirit is holding onto for you.
And We Know
And this we know…
This is a statement of fact. This isn’t hope or wishing but fact. We know. What do we know?
We know who God is. We know the Holy Spirit lives within us with all His power. And we know who we are – adopted children of the Most High God, joint heirs with Christ who can call God, “Daddy.”
When hope is failing, remind yourself of what you know!
All Things Work Together For Good
God causes all things to work together for good.
That doesn’t mean all things are good. That doesn’t mean God causes all the things that happen.
What this line says is that all the things happening in your life will eventually work together for good. Your good and His glory is what is implied.
Imagine this like a patchwork quilt. We see small pieces being sewn in slowly (painfully) over time. God in heaven has a master plan, sees the finished product even while we painfully endure the sewing. We see parts of the pieces and the backend with all its ugly loose strings and mistakes.
One day, when we stand with Him in eternity, He will show us the final product. It will be filled with beauty and wonder as only He could have crafted from all of our mess.
Beautiful and good in the end.
Good For God’s People
Who will God work all things together for good for? To those who love God. Do you love God? Then, you can stand on this promise when the process hurts. When it’s hard to hold onto hope, remember that you love God and He loves you, and that means He is working this out for your good.
Are you God’s? Do you love Him? Then you have been called. It says He works all things together for the good of those called according to His purpose.
His purpose… That means that this hard situation didn’t catch Him off guard. He saw it coming and has a plan to work through it to bring about something He proposes. Maybe that’s your spiritual growth, maybe He sees someone else furthur in your story who will need the compassion and grace this is teaching you.
He has a plan and a purpose. Trust Him! Stand on this promise. Even when it doesn’t feel good, know that good will come from the pain.
10. God Is For You (:31)
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NKJV)
What impossible situation are you facing today?
Are you struggling to keep hope alive in the midst of the suffering (no matter how light or temporary it is)?
Paul reminds us that thorugh it all, God is for you. Let that sink in.
God is for you.
He is on your side.
He is rooting you on, holding you up, fighting for you in the midst of the impossible situation you are facing today!
And if God is for you, standing up over you… who can be against you?
I think of this a bit differently, though, because there are actually many people against us, even when God is for us.
Who can stand against you and win? If God is fighting for you, no one will win against you! No one!
Unless
Unless you switch sides mid battle. Who else can relate? God is for me. I feel Him fighting over me. I am standing with Him, praising, worshipping and fixing my eyes on Him.
Untill something crazy happens, knocks me down, hit me out of nowhere. Then all of a sudden my eyes are on the problem. I am listening to the enemy tell me I am not enough, this is impossible, nothing will ever change… and I start to agree with him, I start to say those things to myself.
For some reason, I start making plans of my own, doubting God’s love, God’s protection, God’s goodness. He feels distant and uncaring.
Do you ever switch sides mid-battle? Everything was going great… though it was still hard, and then you give up. I just did that last week. As I look back at it, I feel so ashamed of the pit of sin I jumped into head first!
Get Back Up
“For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again…” (Proverbs 24:16 NKJV)
Aren’t you glad that the Bible speaks to those seasons? The seasons where the hard has lasted too long, the hope has gone unanswered through too many battles, and you just fail… falling flat on your face in defeat…
God reminds us that we all fall. Falling seven times doesn’t feel like a big number, but seven is the number of perfection and completion. Here, He is saying that it doesn’t matter how many times you fall, as long as you get back up.
Are you down? Did you fall flat on your face into a pit of sin, doubt, depression, hopelessness or defeat?
Get back up.
Confess that mess to Him (He already knows and still loves you). Get back into the battle. Remebering that He is for you!
God is for you.
The Creator the Entire Universe is for… you.
Related Post: Hope After Divorce: Divorce as a Christian Woman is Not the End of Your Story
11. Your Identity Is More Than A Conqueror (:37)
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37NKJV)
God is fighting your battle, standing up over you. NO One can win against Him. Stand with Him, and you will see victory!
Victory is on the other side of this impossible situation. You will conquer through Him. Why? Because He loves you.
Will the victory look the way you are picturing it? Probably not. It never does for me anyway. But will that make it any less victorious? Nope.
You are a conquerer.
Is that part of how you see yourself?
Related Post: Knowing God as a Loving Father
What Are You Conquering?
Death and sin. You are living the life of a child of God, dearly loved and supported by the Father of light. He is for you, and you will win the battle because of His support.
For me, that means letting go of what I think victory should look like. I thought we were fighting for one thing, but really I can see that God’s vision of victory looks so much bigger than mine.
I long for a happy, healthy marriage. God longs to see my family set free from sin, bondage, and addiction. He doesn’t want happy, healthy people by my Western standard. He longs for healed, holy, and righteous people- people fully surrendered to Him, serving Him with their entire lives.
Can that happen in a happy, healthy marriage? Maybe. But I have to trust that He is good and He will work all of this together for our good and His glory in the end… whatever the end result looks like for our family.
Related Post: 15 Biblical Expectations In Marriage: 8 Ways To Find Hope and Healing
11. Know That Nothing Can Separate Your From the Lord (:38-39)
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 NKJV)
The victory may look different than I want. The good He is working out may take a long time and hurt in the process. I may fail to keep hope for the victory I am dreaming about some seasons.
But through it all, He is with me. Nothing, and I repeat,n othing can separate us. That is a victory in and of itself.
When all else fails. When friends leave. If families fall apart. When people die and you feel all alone. Hope lives on in this promise. God loves me and nothing can change that. God is for me and nothing can change that. Jesus made a way and nothing can undo that! The Holy Spirit is mine and nothing can take that away!
Thank you, Lord! Your love, Your goodness, Your kindness, and Your faithfulness are enough.
Will You Keep Waiting in Hope With Perseverance?
This article was as much for me as it is for you. I am failing to keep waiting in hope with perseverance… as the difficulties and delays of a family crisis keep stretching on, and the pain keeps hitting me in waves.
Today I am again reminded where my hope comes from! Today I commit again to get back up and stand in His love, under His protection and surrender any picture of what victory “should” look like to Him again.
Will you join me?
in HIS love,
Tiffany of Hope Joy in Christ inspires Christian Women to grow in faith, live out Biblical Marriage Principles and raise Godly Children. Join the Wives Only Facebook Group here or keep up with her through Pinterest.
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This post gave me a new perspective on the topic—thank you!
Praying over you now.