The God of Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15: 13

Last night before our little guys went to bed, they called to tell us about their day! Miles, our 7 year old grandson, had his first basketball game of the season, and he was really disappointed that they lost! But he said he hoped they would play better in the next game, and then, he knew they would win! Cole, our 4 year old, told us he missed us and he hoped we would come to see him soon.

I love their sweet expectations for what lies ahead. The disappointments of life that we adults sometimes experience haven’t dampened their spirits. They live with such hope and enthusiasm for life. How grateful I am that in their sweet innocence, they go to sleep each night with the assurace that tomorrow is going to be just as wonderful as today, if not better!

Hope – a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen – that human thread that connects us with God and His grace. What power His Spirit can give to sustain us and carry us through the difficulties of life.

But yet, there seems to be so much hopelessness and despair in our world. So many people seem to be living as if they can no longer dream and hope for a better future or have a life filled with meaning and joy. What can we do when those around us are beginning to lose that precious gift of hope?

Even those of us who know God’s love and grace can sometimes feel just as hopeless and full of despair as we face uncertain times. How can we, too, keep from losing the hope that our loving God longs to give us? How can we instill that message of hope in our children and grandchildren’s hearts and minds that they will need in the coming years, if we don’t have it ourselves?

This walk of faith is such a journey, a process, a path that can lead us in so many directions, as we go back and forth from strong in spirit to weak in faith. How weary and overburdened we can become as we struggle with life and its many problems.

God knew from the beginning that we wouldn’t be able to do it on our own, so He sent His Spirit to live within us. As we go through the peaks and valleys of life, we need this Spirit to fill us with His love and grace. We need our own spirits refreshed, our resolve to trust in Him strengthened, and our hearts lifted up to Him. We need to go to Him, seek Him, spend time with Him, pray, and read His Word.

We must know this amazing God for who He is. If we can’t sense His presence, feel His love, and tender mercy, comfort, assurance, peace, and joy, then we can never experience the power of His grace. But through truly knowing Him and understanding His unconditional love and care, we can trust in Him and live each day without fear.

What security His promises and love can give us. We can have the hope in Him that we need for the future, no matter what circumstances may arise. We can face an uncertain tomorrow, for we have Him today – and for all eternity. We must encourage others to look to Him and not give up on hope.

He is the God of hope. We can hold on to Him, and He will give us His mercy and grace, and fill our lives with joy and peace.

Prayer

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the hope you provide through the power of your Holy Spirit within us, but even more we thank you for your presence in our lives and the love and care we know you will always provide no matter what situations we may face. What peace and joy you can bring to our lives if we will only trust in you. Amen