Groaning is a natural response to pain or despair. It is also used when describing the sound made by an object that has been put under pressure. It is generally not the result of something positive, but something negative and difficult. For instance in the Old Testament the word is used to describe the sound of the wounded (Jeremiah 51:52), the hungry (Lamentations 1:11), those in labor (Isaiah 42:14), those frustrated by working with no reward (ie fisherman who cast their nets and gain nothing in Isaiah 19:8), those tormented by wicked rulers (Proverbs 29:2), and those whose spirits have been crushed (Psalm 38:8). Those are some heavy subjects. The groan audibly illustrates the inward affect that these difficult times can have on a person. While there are many more examples of the word \u201cgroan\u201d in the Old Testament, the New Testament only uses the word a handful of times. Maybe there is good reason for this. Much of the Old Testament was written during very difficult times of captivity and struggles. It was a pretty common sound I\u2019m sure in David\u2019s life as he wrote the Psalms during times of great stress and difficulty. Jeremiah probably uses it the most as he wrote the book by his name and the book of Lamentations. The New Testament is a little more conservative with its usage of the word. At least one translation uses it to describe Jesus\u2019 response to the weeping of the family of Lazarus (John 11:33) and the sound of intense suffering of the people in Egyptian bondage (Acts 7:34). Our world is struggling. From the things we face in our own politics and school systems and work force in America, to the wars in Ukraine and Israel, there seems to be a global groaning for relief. And yet, that doesn\u2019t seem to be a new phenomenon: \u201cFor we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies\u201d (Romans 8:22-23). While Paul doesn\u2019t come right out and say it, we have been awaiting eagerly for everything to be set straight and made right ever since the fall of man in the garden. God subjected the world to futility (ie, emptiness) after the garden in hope that mankind would trust in Him and not in the world. Therefore, all of creation is flawed and corruptible but will one day be set free when Christ returns (Romans 8:18-21). And so it yearns for relief\u2014it groans under the intense pressure of a sin-filled world. And while we wait for God to deal with the sin, injustice, and pain of the world, Paul relays in a few passages how we groan in our own personal lives. As he continues in Romans 8:26 he speaks of the way we pray: \u201cLikewise the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.\u201d It is difficult to put together all the words we need when our hearts are hurting over loss or our minds are distracted with anxieties. In those moments, God completely understands. He made us. His Spirit intercedes on our behalf when we have those groanings too deep for words. Paul, on one other occasion uses this idea. It is in 2 Corinthians after he has encouraged the church in Corinth to not lose heart although the physical body is getting older and wasting away but the inner man is being renewed (2 Corinthians 4:16).\u00a0\u00a0Eternal life is to be far better than this temporary dwelling and we eagerly long for the things that are unseen as we know we have a heavenly house waiting (4:17-18). He says: \u201cFor in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened\u2014not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be stalled up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:2-5). The world groans for something better\u2014for justice and goodness and peace. We long for something better\u2014a permanent dwelling with God away from the pain and complication of the world. And in the midst of this longing\u2014and the prayers that accompany it\u2014is one constant: the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit helps us with our prayers and provides the guarantee of better things to come. I know many of you\u2014and many around the world today are in a season of struggle. I don\u2019t know how long it will last. But I know while you face it, He is with you\u2026 and His presence in the battle means that it will not last forever. Groaning is unique to this world. When we enter glory, we will never again groan for something better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Groaning is a natural response to pain or despair. It is also used when describing the sound made by an object that has been put under pressure. It is generally not the result of something positive, but something negative and difficult. For instance in the Old Testament the word is used to describe the sound… Continue reading The Groaning of Creation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[178,179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin","category-marks-messages","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3290"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3291,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290\/revisions\/3291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}