Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

God fills you with joy and peace. The Bible describes the pre-salvation position as “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). But the lost-ness of a fallen world has forever changed because Jesus who never sinned became sin for broken humanity (2 Corinthians 5:21). He left the splendor of heaven and came on a rescue mission for us. Joy to the world, the Savior has come!

He is the God of hope. Biblical hope is based on the integrity of God’s faithfulness—His character, performance, and nature—and differs greatly from the baseless optimism that the world calls hope. Hope in God springs from knowing His well-documented track record in the Scriptures and in people’s lives: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). The faithful God in the Bible is the same God who will help you in your situation. Even if you fall, God is there to lift you back up (Proverbs 24:16; Psalm 145:14).

Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24

Be a carrier of hope. God wants to use you to offset the incredible negativity and pessimism in the world. Hope should be something you carry—something that gets in your vocabulary when everybody else is complaining, that flares up when all the circumstances go the opposite way, that adjusts your thinking to keep your dreams and hopes from getting dashed. Get tenacious! Be confident that God will cause all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28). You will see the goodness of God in this life (Psalm 27:13-14).

. . . We have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men . . . 1 Timothy 4:10

Merry Christmas!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

The God of hope has solutions to your problems. I’ve walked into situations that did not look solvable. But after I had prayed and sought the God who is able, wisdom poured out and sufficiency came. God is able to do even more than we can think or imagine, so don’t limit God’s ability to provide an answer for the most impossible situations (Ephesians 3:20).

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. Psalm 42:5

Put your hope in God’s faithfulness, which extends to all generations with no variation or shifting shadow (Psalm 100:5, 119:90; James 1:17). He is more faithful than the sunrise.

This is our time to roll up our sleeves and exhibit a steadfastness of hope (1 Thessalonians 1:3). People love the sound of the starting gun, but it’s a whole different breed that makes it to the finish line. “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9). With determined faith, keep holding to the conviction that God is going to bring to pass His purposes; and with your hope fixed on Him, dare to believe that you will see the good news message of Jesus permeate the world!

Press on!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation