#88 | Groaning for Glory | Romans 8:19-26 | The Great 8

Have you ever looked around at the world and thought, "This can't be how it's supposed to be?"

You watch the news. You attend funerals. You hear cancer diagnoses. You see broken families. You battle temptation. You wrestle with anxiety. And deep down, something inside you longs for more.

Romans 8 tells us that ache is real. It's not weakness. It's evidence that we were made for something better. Paul says creation is eagerly waiting, believers are groaning, and all of history is moving toward the day when Jesus makes all things new. Sin didn't just break humanity—it fractured all of creation. But the story doesn't end with brokenness. It ends with restoration. 

In this episode, we unpack three powerful truths about groaning for glory:

1. Creation Groans — The world feels broken because it is. Every storm, sickness, funeral, and tragedy reminds us that sin left scars everywhere.

2. Believers Groan — Even as followers of Jesus, we still experience suffering, disappointment, temptation, and loss. Our groaning isn't hopeless—it's homesickness for heaven.

3. Hope Groans For Glory — Biblical hope isn't wishful thinking. It's confident expectation. We wait with confidence because God's promises are certain and His restoration is coming.

Ultimately, Jesus entered our broken world, experienced our suffering, died our death, and rose again so that brokenness would never have the final word. Because of the resurrection, we know that every groan is moving toward glory.

Final Application:

• What area of your life is groaning right now?
• Your body? Your family? Your future? Your heart?
• Don't ignore the ache. Let it point you to hope.

Because we ache because we weren't made for this world.

And every groan is a reminder…

Glory is on the way.

Book Derek Griffon to Speak at your next event 

https://www.derekgriffon.com/invite

Transcript

Welcome \\ Daily Rebel Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:01

This podcast is for the ones who know they will rescue, but also know they will resent. Saved by grace, sent to live differently. We're not rebelling against God, we're rebelling against everything that keeps us free. Every day we don't swing our opinions, we sharpen our lives on the word of God. The sword of the Spirit, guiding us, cutting through lives, and leading us one step at a time. We'll talk faith, identity, purpose, leadership, and what it really looks like to follow Jesus in a distracted world. Welcome to the Daily Rebel. Yo, what's good, Rebels? Here we go. Romans 8, uh,

Romans 8:19-25

SPEAKER_00 0:37

chapter, Romans chapter 8, verse 19. It says this for the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God's sons to be revealed. Have you ever felt like I mean something just wasn't right? Like, not just in your life, but in the world. Like you watch the news and you see wars, you attend funerals of tragedies, or you hear cancer diagnosis, or you see broken families, you battle temptation, struggle, anxiety.

Why The World Feels Broken

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And there's something inside you says, This can't be how it's supposed to be. And you know what? You're right. Because Romans 8 tells us that deep ache we feel is actually real. Because sin is sin broke everything. The world is broken. Creation, you ain't got to be a Christian to understand that creation is broken. Our bodies are broken. And until Christ returns, everything is groaning for restoration. Like we ache because we were made for something better. Romans uh 8, 19 to 25 is one of the most fascinating sections Paul ever wrote. And three times Paul uses language of groaning. He says, creation groans, believers groan, soon we'll we'll see the spirit groan. Why? Because all of creation is longing for redemption. That's what the entirety of Romans 8 is, is for God to redeem his creation. And the Greek idea behind eagerly waits in verse 19 paints the picture of someone standing on their tippy toes. It literally

To Stretch the Neck

SPEAKER_00 1:50

means to stretch the neck, waiting and expecting and longing. Creation is literally straining for what God will do next. It's like somebody trying to peek over a fence that they can barely see over. But the world knows something is missing. The world is broken, but listen, restoration is coming. So, number

Point 1: Creation Groans

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one, we see in the text, creation groans. Sin broke more than just people. It says for the creation eagerly waits. Creation itself is suffering. Like when Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, the curse didn't just affect humanity, it affected everything. That's why hurricanes and disease and death happened. That's why natural disasters were like, where did that come from? Like decay, suffering. Like, and I'm sorry to tell you that hurricanes and natural disasters are not just because people issue about global warning, warming. It's because we have a fractured, broken world. And Paul says creation was subject to subjected to fertility, meaning brokenness, frustration, and decay. So the world feels broken because it is.

The World Feels Broken Because It Is

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Like every funeral and tragedy, every storm, every disease reminds us that sin left scars everywhere. And when you see brokenness around you, let it remind you that Jesus is coming to make all things new one day. The second

Point 2: Believers Groan

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thing is believers groan. Paul shifts from creation to Christians. We feel the weight too. In verse 23, not only that, but we ourselves. In other words, creation isn't the only thing groaning. We are too. Even safe people struggle. Like we still battle temptation and sickness. Like I get sick at least two or three times a year, probably because of my pace of life, but also because I still live in a broken, fallen body. We deal with grief, disappointment, and weakness and suffering. Again, to be a Christian, as Timothy Keller said, is to follow Jesus is to suffer. You're going to experience the commonality of everybody else when it comes to pain. And because we have the spirit, we know enough about heaven

Homesick For Heaven

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to long for it. And the closer you grow to God, the more you realize that this world is not enough. Groaning is not weakness, it's longing. It's the ache that says, I cannot wait till Jesus fixes this. Every believer carries homesickness for heaven. So let me ask you this what burden keeps reminding you, reminding you this world isn't your final home? Which brings me to number

Point 3: Hope Groans For Glory

SPEAKER_00 3:54

three is that hope groans for glory. Paul says, now in this hope we were saved. Notice the word hope. This isn't wishful thinking, this isn't positive vibes. It's biblical hope because it means confident expectation. Paul says if we already possessed everything, hope wouldn't be necessary. But because we don't yet see fullness of redemption, we wait. See, hope lives in the gap between promise and fulfillment. And some of us right now we're waiting for healing. Uh, some of us are waiting for a breakthrough in our lives, or maybe even for some for some answers, ultimately restoration or even relief. And waiting is tough. Paul says we eagerly wait with patience. Again, we stretch our neck, we wait. Waiting is not wasting. Um, waiting

Waiting Is Not Wasting When God Is Working

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is not wasting when God is working. Waiting is not wasted time when you know God is working behind the scenes. Listen, the one day, the curse will be gone, death will die, tears will disappear, suffering will end, Jesus will reign visibly, and every groan will give way to glory. And the groaning will not last forever. The glory will. Jesus understands groaning. He entered our broken world, he experienced suffering. Three things that Jesus did that we all will do. He wept, he bled, he died. But he did something that one day we'll be able to experience too in our resurrected bodies, he rose. Which means the story ends with restoration. It doesn't end with ruin, it ends with victory. It doesn't end with defeat, it ends

Jesus Restores What Sin Broke

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with glory, not groaning. So listen, because Jesus walked out of the grave, brokenness doesn't get the final word. So what area of your life is groaning right now? Is it your body, your family, your future, your heart? Don't ignore the ache. Be real about it. Let it point you to hope, though. We ache because we weren't made for this world. We groan because we know something better is coming. And we wait because Jesus promised restoration. Every groan is a reminder that glory is on the way. Don't give up. Run to them, not from them. Amen. Thank

Outro

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you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help other people be equipped to be redeemed rebels, give us a follow and share it around with your friends. We'll see you next time.