• Main Idea: We can faithfully endure suffering because we know that God will use it to make us more like Jesus.
• Head Change: To know that the glory that awaits us will far exceed the sufferings we experience now.
• Heart Change: To feel confident that God will use our trials for our ultimate good.
• Life Change: To wait patiently for the return of Jesus and the redemption of our bodies, clinging to him by faith as we wait.

When have you had to wait for something important? Would you say that your waiting was marked by patience or impatience?

Each of us at some point has had to exercise patience—we’ve all waited for things both large and small. From test results to job promotions to important packages, waiting is part of the human experience.

Christians, likewise, are no stranger to waiting. We wait—in hope, with patience and groaning—for Jesus to come back and free us from the pain that marks our lives. Paul addressed our present pain and the frustration of waiting in Romans 8:18–30. In this session, J.D. will help us make sense of the topic that confounds so many of us: suffering.

Read Romans 8:18–30.

Show Session 2: Romans 8:18–30 (12 minutes).

Session 1 ended with Paul dipping his toe into the topic of suffering, which is right where Session 2 picks up. Have you heard the mistaken belief that becoming a Christian will ensure that you have a life free from suffering, trials, and hardship? Where have you heard this myth taught? Do you feel the teaching helps us prepare for suffering? Why or why not?

Paul is not one to downplay the significance of suffering: he suffered a great deal himself. He puts our difficulties in perspective in verse 18 by comparing “the sufferings of this present time” with the glory that awaits Christians. Why is it important for us to remember the glory to come when we’re experiencing hardship now? How can reflecting on future glory help us to endure faithfully today? 

J.D. said that this passage helps dispel several myths we sometimes believe about suffering. We might assume

• if we live well, we can avoid suffering
• suffering indicates we’re in sin
• finding the silver lining in our suffering will make things easier

Which of these three myths are you most prone to believe? Why? How does this passage help to correct your thinking?

When we are suffering, we tend to look for a quick way out. But Paul blends the ideas of suffering and waiting in this passage. In verses 19–25, we are said to wait alongside creation for the redemption of all things. Are you good at waiting? Why, or why not? Why do you think we struggle to be patient in suffering?

Paul says in verses 20–22 that the whole creation “groans” because of its bondage to decay and futility. All of creation—plants and animals and everything in between—cries out for and longs for the return King Jesus who will renew the world. What are some of the ways you have seen creation “groan”?

Paul goes on to highlight our own groaning, or longing, in verse 23. Alongside creation, we experience the brokenness of the world and long for the day Jesus will make it right. What are the things that cause you to groan within yourself? Where do you turn in response to these longings?

In what ways could your longing serve as prompts that lead you back to the gospel?

In verses 24–25, Paul brings up the topic of hope, which is the discipline of waiting patiently for that which we’ve not yet seen. The focus of Christian hope is the return of Christ, but our hopes can be misplaced in worldly things. Whatever you think will deliver you from groaning is your hope. What are you hoping for? In what ways are your hopes connected to the hope Paul commends in this passage? In what ways are they disconnected?

We may struggle to fully trust Christ because we don’t feel like he will deliver us from our suffering. So, instead of waiting for him, we turn to money, affection, acclaim, or materialism to give us peace in chaos. What behaviors would change if your hopes were fully fixed on Christ and his return?

In verse 26, we see that the Spirit also groans, but not in pain. As he prays for us, he “intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.” We don’t always know what to pray, Paul says, so the Spirit helps us, yearning to connect our hearts to God. How often do you find yourself wanting to pray but not knowing what to pray for? In what ways does it encourage you to know that, in those moments, the Spirit himself prays for you?

 Not only does the Spirit pray for us, but he prays for us “according to the will of God.” What does it look like to pray according to the will of God?

In what ways does having the Spirit intercede for us “according to the will of God” remove the pressure we might feel to be perfect in our prayer life?

Romans 8:28 is one of the most quoted verses in all the Bible. And while it is a heartening verse, it’s also frequently misused or taken out of context. It is often misunderstood to mean God will only give us good things, instead it means that God will use all things—good and difficult—for our ultimate good. What changes about your reading of Romans 8:28 when you consider that God uses every situation for our eternal good? In what ways can difficult situations be used for our good?

In verse 29, Paul brings up what J.D. called the “p-word”: predestination. While some regard predestination as a controversial or alarming concept, J.D. argued that Paul is trying to give readers assurance that no matter what we face God will keep us to the end and make us like Jesus. What are your thoughts and impressions of predestination? What is your church’s stance on predestination?

There are a number of viewpoints on predestination, but the main point is Paul’s intent to assure his readers that none of their sufferings are wasted; God is using them for their ultimate good. In what ways could the concept of predestination strengthen your assurance that you have been adopted by God? How can the doctrine of predestination help you endure the trials you’ll inevitably face?

In verse 30, Paul takes the concept of predestination and carries it to its logical end. In eternity, we will be with Christ, reigning alongside him forever. If we have been predestined, he implies, we have surely been called and justified, and will one day be glorified. How can our future glorification help inform the way we live today?

To be glorified is to be made like Jesus—to be fully conformed to his image—and to reign with him in the new heavens and new earth forever. If God uses all things to make us like Christ, then even our current sufferings—difficult as they are—are preparing us for eternal glory. In what ways might your current sufferings and afflictions be preparing you for glory? What does it look like for you to trust God in your present disappointment, heartbreak, or pain?

Romans 8 is an iconic passage of Scripture. It shows us to the heights of God’s grace and, at the same time, it sobers us to the reality of suffering.

As Christians, adopted by God and filled with his Spirit, we now find ourselves waiting. And while we wait, we “experience the sufferings of this present time,” as Paul says. But even as we suffer, we are helped by God’s Spirit, we are reminded of the glory that awaits us, and we move forward knowing that the God who has called us to himself is using our hardships to make us more like his Son.

So, remember this today: the trials you’re currently facing—whatever they are—“are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” Our suffering is not meaningless, a sign of God’s absence, or a punishment for unfaithfulness. God, in his majesty, uses the results of the Fall to make us like his son. If even suffering makes us like Jesus, what can possibly separate us from him?