The Power of Hope

Yesterday my pastor continued his current sermon series teaching through the book of Romans, and the passage for this week included one of my favorite verses – Romans 15:13: “. . . God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Have you ever felt hopeless?  If you have, then you understand the power of hope in a person’s life.  There was a time in my life several years ago when many things looked so bleak that I experienced a complete loss of hope and a real lack of purpose.  I knew God was the answer, but I struggled to feel his presence and to fully embrace the hope that only he can give.

But after many months of hopelessness, God brought this verse, Romans 15:13, to my attention and helped me to understand it better.  He showed me that hope doesn’t come from my circumstances or my feelings, but from God himself – the source of hope.  He also showed me that he is the one who can fill me with joy and peace, which I lacked at that time, and that hope, joy and peace were his gracious gifts to me.  My only job in this process was to trust in him. 

Sometimes we try to manufacture our own hope or joy or peace by looking at life and whatever our situation is at the time and taking things into our own hands.  But hope has already been given to us by God when we choose to trust in him and follow his Word.  Here are a few of the aspects of hope that we can look forward to:  hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2); hope of permanent righteousness (Galatians 5); hope of bodily redemption (Romans 8:23-25); and hope of a glorious inheritance (Ephesians 1:18). 

 

Even more encouraging, however, is the hope that is ours right now in the midst of life’s ups and downs – the living hope we have because Jesus Christ is in us (Colossians 1:27).  The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that God’s promises are so sure that they give us a hope that is an anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19).  We all need an anchor that holds us steady and firm no matter what life brings. 

I can’t help but think about the words of an old hymn we used to sing:  On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand – because my hope is built on nothing less than Christ!