Verse of the Day for July 26

Romans 12 reads like a list, and verse twelve is three short items in it. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. Each is only three words long, as if Paul knew they would be said under strain.

Hope, by its nature, is about what cannot yet be seen. You do not hope for the thing already in your hand. So rejoicing in hope is joy about a horizon you cannot see past.

Patience in tribulation is the middle step. It does not say happy in tribulation. It says patient, which means staying under the weight without giving up. And continuing instant in prayer means keeping at it steadily, the way someone keeps a lamp burning through a long night.

Notice what surrounds those three. Before them, Not slothful in business. After them, Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. When you cannot see far ahead, Paul does not tell you to stare harder at the future. He points you to the work in front of you and the neighbour at your door.

If the next year is fog, cook a little extra and take it to the widow down the road. Then pray again tonight. The near things are what you can see. Do those, and keep your hope for the far ones.

Hope is joy about a horizon you cannot yet see past.

When the future is fog, do the near good thing and keep praying.