What to do with Trouble

Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.... Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:12, 15)

I am wondering why this first instruction is given. There could be several ways of looking at this to uncover the need for it to be given. Is there a time when we might engage in hope without rejoicing in it? If so, then we would need to be reminded to rejoice while we are hoping.

To follow that line of inverse deduction, might we have a problem of rejoicing without having enough hope? I can't quite see that problem very clearly but it might be worth thinking about. Clearly Paul sees the need to remind us that these two actions or states of mind need to be linked together or otherwise there would not be compelling reason for writing this to us. Plugging it back into context it certainly makes sense that when things are not going well we need to put into practice our hope in a rejoicing sort of way. But that is generally not the natural response we have to trouble.

The Greek word for tribulation here has a wide spectrum of meanings that cover many more areas of our daily life than what we might first think. It means pressure, affliction, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble. Any one of those words alone without the others involved can be an opportunity to remember both to rejoice in hope and to stay very close to prayer.

The word translated persevering means what we might say, to hang in there. It also means to abide, to endure, to have fortitude or to tarry behind. Evidently this implies that we should not necessarily try to immediately jump out of our trouble or affliction or anguish. Instead we are to face it with fortitude, with hope and with prayer. I suspect this is because the greatest opportunities for growth are found by going through our problems instead of jumping out of them or avoiding them. It is very much like muscle building; the effort needed to build up muscles can be quite uncomfortable at times but is necessary to endure if we want the end results of a healthier body.

I find it interesting that the instruction to face and endure our pressures or whatever difficulties we are facing is carefully surrounded on both sides with important instructions as to how we are to respond to those times in our lives. On one side we are told to rejoice in hope and on the other side we are instructed to stay very close to prayer. The word for prayer here also means worship and the word translated devoted to is rich with meaning. It denotes earnestness, perseverance, constant diligence, to attend assiduously all the exercises, to adhere closely to, attend continually (upon), continue (in, instant in, with), wait on (continually).

I see this as a parallel passage to the one in the middle of 1 Thessalonians 5 that contains the phrase to pray without ceasing. Many other verses in that passage closely parallel the ones in this passage and it would be very interesting to look at them side by side.

What I did notice this morning as I looked over these verses again was the close similarity between verse 12 and verse 15. Both talk about rejoicing and both refer to emotions involved in sadness or pain. The first verse seems to refer to how we should respond to trouble in our own life and then verse 15 teaches us to take what we have experienced to help us synchronize with the feelings and emotions of others who are experiencing similar times in their lives. When we synchronize our emotions with another it creates a deeper bond between us which is what the body is all about.

These instructions, again, are all in the chapter referring primarily to what the body of Christ is to look like in everyday life. This section of the chapter is unpacking much of what our relationships will look like when we are experiencing the transformation talked about in verse two instead of the conformity that human religion or the world uses to bond people together. The body of Christ on earth is to be bonded from internal transformation of hearts and with the love described in these verses. When the bonds emanate from the inside instead of the outside we will then be more empowered to devote ourselves to one another in brotherly love, to give preference to one another in honor, to rejoice in hope and share the experiences of others in the body in meaningful and uplifting ways.

The next two verses contain a very interesting surprise. But right now I need to get ready to leave so I will visit those next time.

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