Don't lose hope!

"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)

It's easy in these strange times we are living in to lose hope, especially now that we are isolated from on another due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We're not meeting or going out much these days and we are only a few days into what feels like a dream or a nightmare. Is this our new normal? Have we overreacted out of fear? Have we not acted soon enough to stop the spread of this incurable deadly virus?

In the verse listed above, the apostle Paul, writes to the early Christian church meeting in Rome; in the shadow of the enemy world dominating power seeking to take over the world... and he simply says that God is their source of hope. Despite what or who surrounds you, your hope begins and ends with God. He writes that God who is the source of hope will fill also fill them and us with joy and peace, but that is contingent upon our willingness to put our trust in Him, the God of the universe! When we learn to put our trust in God, He will fill our lives with joy and peace, and there will be an overflow of hope. But not just any kind of hope... confident hope as we face the uncertainties of life!

This scripture is more true today than it has ever been in our lives together as a nation. It is a promise from God to us to claim today as we live with uncertainty and worry, not knowing what tomorrow holds for each of us. Don't lose hope! God is the author of hope and the one who fills our lives with confident hope amidst the chaos and confusion. We can have hope because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, giving us the power to hope with confidence that God knows what He is doing and He is in control of all of this...