The God of Hope

Transcript

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Welcome back to Beyond Sunday and Day 14 of Anchored in God's Promises. If you've been with me from the start of this series, I hope you've begun to notice the difference it makes when you start your day with a promise from God's Word. And if you're just joining us for the first time today, you're in the right place. Our verse today comes from the book of Romans. It's not just a promise, it's a prayer, it's a blessing. Paul spoke over believers and it's one that I wanna speak over you right now. Romans 1513 says this, 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. Paul starts by calling God the God of hope. That means that hope isn't just something God gives. Hope is part of who He is. Hope has a source and that source is God. When we think about hope, we often treat it like wishful thinking. I hope this works out. I hope I get the job. I hope the weather's good for the weekend. That kind of hope is fragile. It's dependent on circumstances lining up. But biblical hope is different. It's confident expectation in God's character and promises. Let me say that again. Biblical hope is confident expectation in God's character and his promises, and when your hope comes from the God who never changes, you can have the stability. Even when life feels unstable. Hope isn't just a nice idea. It's oxygen for your soul, and God is the source of that hope. Paul prays that the God of hope would fill you, not just sprinkle you with joy and peace. Why joy? Because joy is the deep gladness that God is still on the throne, even if the situation isn't what you wanted. So why peace? Because peace is the calm assurance that you are in his hands. No matter what the headlines say or what the doctor's report shows, notice it says All joy and all peace. This isn't. Partial or conditional. God doesn't give halfway. He doesn't ration his joy. He doesn't give peace and teaspoons. His desire is to fill. You completely. Think of it like pouring water into a glass. God's goal is not to fill you just enough to get by. He wants it to run over. Now, there's a condition here as you trust in him. This isn't about earning joy and peace. It's about opening the door for them. Trust is the posture that says, I believe you are who you say you are. Even if I can't see how this will all work out, sometimes you and I, we miss out on joy and peace because we're trusting in the wrong thing. Our own plans, our own timing, our own understanding. Paul is reminding us that joy and peace flow most freely when our trust is placed in God. Paul's prayer doesn't end with you being filled. It ends with you overflowing. God's desire is to give you so much hope that it spills into the lives of people around you. You become a walking reminder that God is faithful. Your peace becomes contagious. Your joy becomes a light in someone else's darkness. When the Holy Spirit fills you to overflowing hope stops being something you clinging to in private. It becomes something you carry into every room you enter. I once knew a man. His name was Mark, who had been through a series of losses, his job, his health, and eventually his spouse. By all accounts, he had every reason to live in bitterness. But when you talk to Mark, he couldn't help but feel lifted. He wasn't fake. He grieved openly, but his eyes carried hope. He would say, I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. People around him were drawn to that hope. His trust in God didn't just carry him. It overflowed into the lives of everyone that knew him. That's Romans 1513 in action. That's the God of hope at work. So here's your challenge today. Identify one area of your life where you've been trusting in your own control instead of God's care. Write it down and then pray this verse over it. God of hope. Fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in you so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray it slowly. Let each phrase sink in, ask the Holy Spirit to make it real in your heart. Let's pray. God of hope, thank you that you don't just give us a little joy or a little peace you fill us to overflowing today. We choose to trust you with the things we can't control. Let our lives reflect your faithfulness and let our hope be so full that it spills into the lives of others. In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for joining me today on Beyond Sunday. If this promise filled your heart with hope, again, share it with someone else. Who might need the reminder, just shoot them that verse in a text. I'll see you right back here tomorrow.