“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Romans 15:13
Our verse for today is loaded with meaning; every word and phrase is jammed-packed with significance. To begin with, God is identified as “the God of hope.” Elsewhere, Paul insisted that our hope in God’s promises is very well placed. “Hope does not disappoint,” declared the great apostle (Romans 5:5). The covenant-keeping God of the Bible is also The Truth (John 14:6). He is therefore not only the supreme Messenger, He is also the Message. He is the direction and the goal; He is the very path to the end of our salvation, which is to be like Him (John 14:6; 1 John 3:2). God in the Person of His Son Jesus not only provides us with hope, He is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1)! This great God is able to fill His people with joy and peace—precious commodities in these trouble-filled last days. But notice that these twin blessings are only available to those who believe in God, who take Him at His word. Lasting joy and real peace are ours only when we place our full confidence in the living and true God, the God who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18), the God whose promises are always yes and amen (2 Corinthians 1:20). Paul reminds us that when we put our faith in God, when we enter into a love-trust relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit causes us to “abound in hope.” This is as remarkable as it is mysterious. Somehow the Spirit of God is able to move us to view all things, even the hard things, through through the eyes of faith. For us, hope saturates whatever we encounter because we know that God is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). With this perspective and attitude, we can march forward, facing another day with confidence, knowing that our great God is for us, not against us. He who did not spare His only begotten Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will indeed grant us all things, whatsoever He has promised (Romans 8:32). Walk strong today, dear saint, fully trusting in the great God who has promised you such stupendous things.
God bless you,
Pastor John
English