Romans 12:12. While meditating on that verse, I wondered why God asks us to be joyful in hope. I can understand why He reminds us to be faithful in prayer—so many times in hardships we slack off in prayer. I can also understand why God asks us to be patient in affliction—patience is hard to muster when you’re hurting. But why does God say to be joyful in hope? Obviously, there must be many times when we lack joy in hope. Think about it. The focus of our hope is yet to be fulfilled; we don’t yet possess