overflow...

Romans 15:13… "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."

Do you ever stop to read God’s Word slowly, breaking down each word and phrases? Repeating it over and over until you begin to understand it more clearly? Trust me when I tell you this… it takes practice. It first takes discipline to read God’s Word everyday. Then it requires a shift in your priorities to slow down and read it, and really focus on each word. Eventually when you learn to meditate on God’s Word, you can begin to pray God’s Word so that your heart and mind will be change by God’s Word.

For example… in the verse from Romans 15, it tells us that God is the source of our hope. We put our hope in a lot of things and people but what does it look like in your life to make God the one and only source of your hope? The verse goes on to state that when we trust God, He fills us “completely” with joy and peace, which I am sure you could use some of both right about now on this crazy and chaotic journey we find ourselves on. We are ALL going through this together at the same time; all over the world, the human race is dealing with this virus and it is robbing us of life, of joy and stealing our peace!

Because we have put our trust in God and He begins to fill us up with joy and peace, the verse states that we will “overflow” with hope. And not just any hope… “confident hope”. Do you know what “confident hope” feels like? Do you know what “confident hope” looks like?

Lets back up and put this into our own words (that is another great tip when reading God’s Word… try to retell yourself or write down what you think the verse is saying)

Believing in God is the source of our hope. Trusting in God fills us up with joy and peace. Living for God will cause us to overflow with hope and we will experience the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives!

Notice that this verse doesn’t say anything about our circumstances! Hope, joy and peace are not determined by our circumstances, but are contingent on our belief and trust in God and by the power of His Spirit living in us!

Feel better? In some strange way, I do… not relieved because I still have some work to do in the “trusting God” department, but this verse convicts me. I want my life to overflow with hope so that others can see the difference Jesus makes in my life. I want to live by the power of the Holy Spirit so that nothing will cause me to live in worry or fear.

May you overflow with hope especially in these days of crisis, chaos and confusion!