Patience, Comfort, and Hope

"Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Romans 15:5-6 NKJV

Unlike us, who tend to lose patience, becoming angry and quick-tempered, the Lord is the God of patience and comfort. Our patience rarely goes hand in hand with comfort; it is usually accompanied by endurance or self-control. The Lord, however, not only has patience, but also comforts us. We do not experience God’s comfort through a hand that caresses us, nor through a hand that makes us feel a physical presence, but rather through the comfort of the Scriptures, which produce hope, as stated in verse 4. When we receive the word of God, or recognize God’s patience in it, or through it receive divine comfort, then we hold fast to hope. What hope? That in God’s promises, which are truth; that our journey is not made up of illusions; that hope which belongs to God Himself. The hope that patience and consolation produce in us is that which comes from the Lord Himself because He, besides being the God of patience and consolation, is also the God of hope, since it is His patience and His consolation that instill hope in us.

Paul writes again: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him” (v. 13). The hope that arises from the comfort of Scripture and from faith takes the form of joy and peace. The hope of believers is such that it fills the heart with joy and peace. These, in turn, then cause us to abound in hope. In a heart touched by God’s comfort, a hope arises that drives away all forms of despondency or frustration; it will certainly fill our lives with peace and joy, for without these there can be no hope! It is not even conceivable that a person could say they hope in the Lord and yet be sad and despondent at the same time, for our hope is bound up with our faith. The Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Therefore, what we hope for, if grounded in our faith, will be certain! This certainty begins right from the first verse of the passage we are considering: “Now we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). This verse connects to a previous discussion the Apostle had regarding sacrificial meat, idols, and other customs, but it can be expanded to a broader context.

In every community, there are strong and weak believers. Usually, those who are strong in faith and hope adopt an attitude of condescension toward the weak, to the point of falling into arrogance and pride. Those who indulge themselves denigrate others, putting them in a difficult position. Paul emphasizes that if we are strong and have attained a sure hope through faith, all who have found peace and joy in the Lord must not put the weak in a difficult position - those whose knees tremble in God’s presence. The weak in faith must not be humiliated by the strong, but must look to the strong for an example. The strong, in turn, are called to bear with the weaknesses of the weak, in the sense of supporting, helping, and upholding them without burdening the weak with a sense of guilt. The believer who has experienced God’s patient and comforting love will know how to support those who are weak, just as Jesus did, leaving us a similar example. Out of love for us, He took upon Himself our weaknesses, our sins, our faults, and our misdeeds, but He did not heap guilt upon us, nor did He make us feel weak or humiliate us. Paul reminds us, instead, that by looking to Him we have discovered that when we are weak, then we are strong; we are strong because the One who is strong comes to support us, urging us on and never abandoning us.

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Weekly Bible Reading Plan #22

May 25, 1 Chronicles 25–27; John 9:1–23

May 26, 1 Chronicles 28–29; John 9:24–41

May 27, 2 Chronicles 1–3; John 10:1–23

May 28, 2 Chronicles 4–6; John 10:24–42

May 29, 2 Chronicles 7–9; John 11:1–29

May 30, 2 Chronicles 10–12; John 11:30–57

May 31, 2 Chronicles 13–14; John 12:1–26