A Product of Hope Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: A Product of Hope ----------------------- Date: 06/25/1999 Keywords: "adoption" "fruit of the Spirit" "groan" "hope" "patience" "redemption" "salvation" "wait" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. eXXit advertises itself as a Web site designed to help you "stand strong in the face of sexual temptation." In Galatians 5:22-23, the apostle Paul lists nine "fruit of the Spirit," fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in the life of the believer. Each of these fruits — if produced — will greatly aid a believer who seeks to "stand strong." At eXXit, we believe that: The fruit of the Spirit is produced in the life of a healthy Christian, just as apples appear on a healthy apple tree. If there is any love or joy or peace in a Christian, it is ultimately the work of God. Christians can cooperate with the Spirit's desire to produce His fruit in their lives by yieldedness, faith, obedience and involvement in ministry. We hope you enjoy and benefit from these meditations on Galatians 5! Send us any feedback. We'd love to know what you think. Passage: Romans 8:22-25* 22. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25. But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Questions 1. Does having patience mean that we lack inner tension or anxiety?   2. How can people who already possess the "firstfruits of the Spirit" also "groan inwardly"? Isn't having the Spirit already enough to satisfy our longings?   3. What do Christians hope for?   Practical help As long as we are on this earth, we will experience longings. These come in many forms, at greater or lesser levels of intensity. Some are rather trivial, like the desire for a sweet soft drink to quench our thirst or pep us up in the morning. Others strike at the core of our being, like the longing to be known for who we truly are. Patience is the product of hope, the confident expectation that our longings will be satisfied. If we are convinced at our core that we will receive in the future what we long for now, our behavior may be less frenetic, less insistent on immediate satisfaction. That is the essence of patient waiting. Pornography addicts have difficulty with this hope. Perhaps a frustrating or difficult relationship has led you to lose the confidence that your longings will be met with joyous, bountiful abandon when you meet the One who calls you. Maybe you have disguised and hidden the insistent longing for true and whole relationship behind the craving for instant satisfaction, finding the "groaning" part (see verse 22 above) too hard to endure. Confess your situation to God and to others that you trust, and rest in the assurance that God has a beautiful place prepared for you. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 1999 by eXXit * Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version, © Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.