A Hopeful Life – Part Two

“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.” Romans 15:13

Inherent in new life are three wonderful blessings. Hope is the third following joy and peace. Our God is a God of the hopeless. 

As you face life with a commitment to Christ, let your heart sing with Mary Martin from “South Pacific,” “I am stuck like a dope on a thing called hope and I can’t get it out of my heart.”

The expression, “the God of all hope,” means the God who inspires hope, He imparts it. He is the Source of hope. It is insured by “the power of the Holy Spirit.” This type of hope isn’t simply a weak aspiration, it is a deep rooted expectation. Hope does not work apart from trust. It is the forward looking aspect of faith. 

In our text is found the enabling element for there to be joy, peace, and hope. The key words are “in believing.” A modern English translation is clearer: “in the exercise of your faith.”

The principle character in Og Mandino’s, The Greatest Salesman in the World, said, “I will make good habits and become their slave.” He suggests these habits. You can be a slave to good or bad habits. These good habits inspire hope.

Resolve:

1. I will close the book on pessimism and open the book of praise.

2. I will not keep score on what life owes me, but think about what I owe Christ.

3. I will stop looking for friends and start being friendly.

4. I will be content in Christ and stop whining about what I don’t have.

5. I will stop looking for others to help me and start helping others.

6. I will commit my life to the service of an imperfect church and keep in mind the twelve chosen by Christ were not perfect.

7. I will leave the choices of life up to the Lord and prayerfully seek  and do them. An old English lexicon reveals the English word meaning of hope came from a contraction of desire plus expectation. This applied hope means we desire for God to keep His word and expect He will.

“Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ … without hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He, Himself, is our peace!”  (Ephesians 2: 13, 14a)

“Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ….” (I Peter 1: 13)

“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.”