I pray that God, the
source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust
in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the
Holy Spirit. —Romans 15:13 (NLT)
Have you ever watched the pendulum in a grandfather clock and observed
its movement? It swings from one height to another carried by the weight of its
purpose. Life also swings from height to valley and back to height again. However,
unlike the steadiness of a pendulum's swing, life, when faced with hardship and
pain, is often out of sync. Hope is lost, and when hope is lost, joy and peace
are not far behind. You may try to stir up hope, but you soon discover you can
never stir up a hope that lasts. The only hope that lasts comes from God, who
is the source of all hope.
When we trust God, He fills us with His hope and not the facsimile we
try to manufacture. Trust grows when we take time with Him, and seek to understand
who He is and who He says we are. His Word is His truth, which inspires trust.
It is His invitation to know Him intimately. When we allow His Word to
transform our minds, then life with its problems, instead of robbing us of hope,
encourages us that He has something greater for us. He has a plan. He has a
purpose. His Word promises that if we follow Him instead of going our own way—if
we hold on and not give up—then we will receive His promise. Understanding His
truth encourages hope He renders. And with that hope, trust grows deeper roots.
With trust in Him, peace and joy carry us safely through what otherwise might
have destroyed. Confidence gains ground, and it overflows in our lives flowing
into the lives of others who are hungry for what we have found.
When Paul prayed this prayer for the Romans, he prayed through the power
of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit persistently seeks to pray from within our
discouraged hearts. He continually offers the promise of His hope by trusting Him,
instead of trusting our own strength. When trust in Him claims our moments,
then we overflow with confident hope that never fails, but always believes in
His promise.
“So do not throw away this confident trust
in the Lord,” the author of Hebrews imparts. “Remember the great reward it
brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will
continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised”
(Hebrews 10:35-36, NLT). We want hope?
The Word makes it clear that trust in Him is the greatest part of the
equation. So isn’t it time now to take this journey with Him?
© 2018 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com
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