Scripture:
“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)
Reading:
Don’t tell my teenagers, but I still tuck them into bed. As I rub their backs and move hair away from their faces, I remind them that according to scripture they are chosen, dearly loved, rejoiced over, set apart for God’s purposes and uniquely gifted, fearfully and wonderfully made. They are precious in God’s sight and my own.
Magnifying what God says fuels our hope – my children’s and my own. Christian hope is the confident expectation that God is faithful to fulfill what He has started. Understand that hope is not ordinary. It is not happy optimism. Hope is how Jesus saw people, circumstances, and the future.
Jesus still views us through a lens of hope knowing who we are created to be in union with the Father. He is sovereign over circumstances that form us and reveal God’s glory. He foresees the future with confidence knowing God’s purposes will be fulfilled. He is “the God of hope.” (Romans 15:13)
If you have been redeemed by Christ, then you have hope. If you have experienced restoration after fragmenting sin, then you have hope. If your heart has been resurrected by God’s transforming work, then you have hope. Hope is God at work in your life.
The Holy Spirit imparts His hope as a glimpse of what eternity will be like in His light.
God’s Word speaks over your life just like a parent nurturing hope in a child. Focus on what God has declared and allow your soul to magnify the Lord. Hope is with you, actively preparing you for a wonderful future with Jesus.
Your Turn:
1. Where do you sense God working in your life? What makes you feel hopeful right now?
2. In prayer, agree with what God’s Word says about you. Imagine Jesus viewing you through His all-knowing lens of hope, His guidance, His promises for you. Nothing is impossible for God (Jeremiah 32:17, Job 42:2). Ask God to fuel confident expectation of His good plan for you.
Prayer:
Father, You are God, and I am not. I agree that what You say about me is eternal truth. I am dependent on You and thankful for Your constant work in my life. In our union, I pray for Your hope to overflow to me and through me. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.