Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (NKJV)
The Good News of Jesus Christ is for all people and nations. This Truth is something that Paul continuously reiterated in his letter to the Roman Christians. Paul wanted to make sure they knew that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ has been given access to God through Jesus Christ.
And so, as Paul neared the end of his letter, he encouraged the Romans with this prayer: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13 ESV)
What a wonderful promise! God is doing the work of filling us with Joy and Peace, and as that happens, by His Holy Spirit, we will abound more and more in hope.
Hope for what? Hope in what?
In Romans 5:1-5, Paul describes how those who believe in Jesus are now at peace with God…
“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (ESV; emphasis added)
Because of our Faith in God, we hope in God’s Glory, and we hope in God’s Love.
So right now, consider how God’s Love might fill your heart with hope. In what ways can you hope in God during this season?
“Abound in hope” is an expression that means to have an overflowing amount of hope that is beyond human capacity to describe or produce. The Greek verb translated as “abound” in Romans 15:13 means to have more than enough, run over, be wealthy, or transcend all boundaries.
Amen.
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