I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. (Romans 15:13a)
Hope at times seems to be fleeing. Have you ever heard , “you just need to have hope.” Does that mean that hope comes from me? How can we have hope when the only thing around us seems to be trials and dark moments. How can you say there is always hope when one is facing a financial crisis, when there is a loss of a loved one or have been diagnosed with an illness that is taking it’s toll.
C.H. Spurgeon said ” to trust God in the Light is easy, but to trust Him in the darkness that is FAITH.
Romans chapter 15 verse 13 tells us
“I pray that 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”
This verse tells us we find hope when we trust in the Lord. Hope can be attained in those tough dark moments in life for hope does not come from us or our circumstance. It comes from the giver of hope, that is Jesus. The question is where is our trust placed in, for that determines if we will experience true hope or not.
Is our trust for provision in our job or bank account? Both can be influnced negatively by outside factors. Is our trust for this situation to work out placed on our own wisdom or knowledge? Does the situation feel crippling and without hope? The bible reminds us of these truths:
Romans 8: 18 states, “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”
Psalms 91:15 (NLT) The Lords says, “I will rescue those who love me, I will protect those who trust in my name.”
Proverbs 3: 5-6
Trust in the Lord whith all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
These verses remind us that we can have hope in the unknown, when we place our trust in Christ alone. The winds may howl in this life from time to time but our hope and trust is in the one who calms the storm. Maybe you feel forgotten, or that the burdens of life are too great; I want you to know that Jesus sees you and has a plan for you. Jesus is there; all we must do is ask Him to come into our hearts and in our situation.
I was reminded to the key having hope in a walk one day. On this beautiful trail was a pond that had quite a few turtles. What caught my attetion was that all of the them were looking up, and as I kept walking I saw a bird also in the same posture. At that moment it hit me! If I focus more on what I am going through and less on the Lord , my heart will fill up with the feeling hopelessness. Now I just do what the animals showed me so spectacularly, just look up. In doing so I remember, that in Jesus there’s always hope.
