Romans 15:13: “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.”
What expectations do you have? We often base our expectations around anticipation with obtaining pleasure in achieving an expectation with confidence based on faith and hope. Some common expectations we all have are for:
- Our children.
- Our job.
- Our marriage.
- Our dreams.
- Our leaders and mentors.
Paul’s prayer of blessing to the church in Rome was that they would live equipped in a common bond of unity in their relationships with one another as mature believers and not as immature believers. He had expectations for these Gentiles and Jews that made up the church, that they would be admonishing and building and cheering each other up to keep moving along in sharing the abundant grace they have been given in Christ, so they can be an impact on the world.
The NIV version states Romans 15:13 this way: “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.”
Have you given your dreams to God? Have you asked God what dreams He has for you in your work? Jesus brings rest and peace, and the devil brings restlessness, striving, and pain. Your identity is not in your success or failure; it is in Christ. I have to keep telling myself that over and over and over again. Our responsibility is to believe in the God who can, who is the great I AM. The Scriptures give us hope. Rom. 15:4 states: “. . . that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
Christ in you is the hope in glory that we possess. As you go about your day you are in the presence of God. Colossians 1:27 declares: “ . . . the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” God himself, in the person of Christ, will be directly and personally with you. His presence assures us of our future life with Him when He returns. This is the competitive advantage you possess in your life. It is Christ in you, teaching you how to pray, transforming you as you read His Word (Rom. 12:1-2), instructing you with the wisdom you ask Him for, and walking with you every where you go.
May the God of hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, and may you be filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, so you will brim over with abounding hope!
This reminds me of the Newsboys song, “That’s How You Change the World.” Watch and listen to the words. Be aware of simple needs all around you in being a light in the dark. That is how we can change the world so that they may abound in hope too.