Hope

I was recently reading in Romans and encountered three passages about hope that spoke to me. Romans 5:3-5 says sufferings produce endurance, which produces character, which produces a hope that does not put us to shame (because God’s love has been poured into our hearts). Romans 15:4 says the instruction of scripture is so we might have hope through endurance and through the encouragement that comes from scripture. Romans 15:13 is a prayer for the Romans that the God of hope would fill them with joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit they might abound in hope.

Here is how they fit together in my mind: In my experience, the way God fills me with joy and peace in believing is through his word (the encouragement of scripture) where he reveals that he is sovereign, holy, loving, and faithful. Believing this helps me to respond to life’s pressures rightly and to trust him when I am faced with stresses and pressures requiring me to endure. I am never shamed that he is my hope because I am confident of his love (poured into my heart). I do not have a minimal hope, but I abound in hope because I am not creating the hope. Instead, I am receiving hope from the Holy Spirit who gives it without bounds.

I experienced total peace while waiting for the results of a biopsy a few years ago, and I feel at peace now when so many voices are saying that stress and anxiety are normal in this time of the coronavirus pandemic. God’s love surrounds me. It is poured into my heart. It is sufficient. More than sufficient.