Scripture to Read: Romans 8:22–23
As we saw yesterday, God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth, and death and decay will no longer exist. But while we wait for that day, God tells us that His entire creation “groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” God uses the pains a mother goes through in childbirth as an example of the pain His creation has been experiencing since sin entered His creation in Genesis 3. Just as a mother suffers pain in childbirth, she and her husband finally receive the precious gift of their son or daughter. Though all of God's creation suffers now, one day, we will be set free from the ravages that sin brings to this world. The good news God gives us as believers is that we have already received the first fruits of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit declares within us, and through His Holy Word, the joyful blessings are still to come. We know Christ will return for His bride (the Church), and we must wait eagerly for our final adoption as sons and daughters of the King of all kings. God, through Christ, has redeemed us from the power and penalty of sin. God, through His Spirit, is continually transforming us into His image. But one day, God will also transform our body to be made complete in Him too, Philippians 3:21, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Challenge & Application
· What hope does God give us today even as all of His creation, including us, suffer in this present life?
· How can you encourage others walking through the tests and trials of this life, knowing what God taught you today?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!