Psalms 60-62, Romans 5 • Key Verses: Romans 5:1—2

Ray Stedman tells of a friend who lived in the Midwest. He lived in the country, and one stormy morning, in the dead of winter, he looked out his window and saw the mailman drive up and leave something in his mailbox.

Wanting to see what it was, he dressed warmly and went out into the bitter cold. With the snow swirling about him, he walked about a quarter of a mile down the lane to where the mailbox was located.

He opened the mailbox, and to his disappointment saw that all that was there was a seed catalog. But he opened it and began to thumb through it. There is nothing like a seed catalog to capture the beauty and brilliance of flowers and vegetables. As he stood there in the snow, suddenly he felt as though spring had come.

He could taste the crunch of a cucumber and smell the fragrance of those red roses and feel the juice of a red-ripe tomato running down his chin. It seemed as though winter faded for the moment and he was caught up in the beauty of spring and summer. Hope stirred within him!

The hope for the Christian goes far beyond a summer garden to eternity. The joy within our heart far surpasses that of a man looking at a seed catalog, because “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” (v. 2).

“God, help me look beyond today and look forward to eternity. I may struggle now but have hope. Help me find the rejoicing that comes from the hope I have in You.”

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in