Tuesday, July 1’s devotional
Life often feels like a pressure cooker. The burdens of change, pain, and brokenness press in from every side. Whether it’s the escalating cost of living, the constant changes around us, or the deep ache of grief or disease, we feel it. Andre reminded us that “we struggle with life as it is right now… There is stress, there is pressure, there is pain, there is sorrow, there is suffering—and we are all too familiar with it.” These words echo the apostle Paul’s honest assessment in Romans 8: “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now” (v. 22).
Paul’s picture of a groaning creation isn’t just poetic—it’s profoundly personal. He writes not only of the world’s suffering but of our own: “Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit…groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies” (v. 23). We’re caught in the middle—between what Christ has already secured and what we have not yet seen. This tension—the “now and the not yet”—defines the Christian life. We have been saved, but we still feel the sting of sin and death. We are heirs of glory, but we still walk through dark valleys.
Yet in this groaning, we do not grieve without hope. Paul points us upward and forward: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us” (v. 18). Our hope is not flimsy or vague. As Andre said, “Our hope is defined, it is underwritten by God himself, it is guaranteed.” It’s not the hope of warmer weather or easier days. It’s resurrection hope—anchored in the risen Christ, who is “the firstfruits” (v. 23) of the new creation.
So what do we do when life groans? We lift our eyes. We wait in hope. We trust in the promise of glory that is coming. Andre encouraged us, “Don’t focus on yourself—lift your eyes, look heavenward… When you get there, you’ll find that everything you suffered is but a moment.” That kind of hope doesn’t erase pain, but it puts it in perspective.
Prayer
Lord, thank You that You are not distant from our pain. You see our groaning and You give us hope. Help us today to lift our eyes above the chaos and fix them on Christ, our risen King. Teach us to wait with patience and worship, to hold on with confidence to Your promise of glory. May our hope be grounded not in what we see, but in what You have guaranteed. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Watch the sermon here.
This devotional content is not penned by the preacher. It is derived from the sermon notes. We aim to provide bite-sized reflections throughout the week for devotion and reflection.