While we live in a world that is desperate for hope, the scripture teaches us how to abound in hope!
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15: 13
The Apostle Paul had been in very trying times throughout his life of ministry. The fact that he could write so many letters from prison and teach and encourage other believers is a testimony of a man who was full of hope and faith. So when he writes about hope we need to pay attention to it.
The above scripture (Romans 15:4) tells us that the word of God brings patience and comfort that produces hope. Sometimes people tend to not read the Bible when they are discouraged, but in truth, we need to dive deeper into the word of God and allow the Bible to comfort us when we are in need. That comfort helps us to wait expectantly for God to intervene and to give Him room to bring about the change that He can only bring.
The Lord is the source of hope. Because He sits outside of time, He sees the future and knows that things will work out if we stay close to Him and abide in Him. The hope that the Lord gives us brings joy and peace as we believe God and take Him at His word. The joy and the peace of God are inseparable from having hope. They go hand-in-hand. They are a good cycle or a righteous cycle. One feeds the other. When we have hope, we are more joyful and peaceful, and when we have joy and peace, we are more hopeful about life. All of this happens by the Holy Spirit empowering us.
The Holy Spirit has a significant role in the hope we will experience. When we go to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us and show us how to see things, the word that He drops in our hearts opens the door to have hope in our hearts.
Sometimes what God speaks and what the circumstances feel like don’t agree. That is when we have to fight the spiritual battle of choosing to believe God above and beyond our feelings and circumstances. Yesterday, I was challenged by that myself and while I knew the scriptures, I needed to continue to surrender myself to the Lord and hold those hopeless and defeated thoughts captive in order to believe God and put my hope in Him.
The beauty of the above scriptures is that it shows to have abundant hope, we need to partner with the Lord in believing what He has spoken. God desires to give us hope, and His hope is an abundant hope that is not dependent on how we feel. We learn to depend on God by believing Him and relying on His trustworthiness. We cast our cares upon Him for He cares for us. Then instead of carrying the burdens, we are empty and available for the Lord to fill us with His hope, joy, and peace in believing. Hallelujah!