A New Dose Of Hope

Posted on August 31, 2018 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 15:13 (NASB)

Have you ever found yourself reciting something that goes like this, “I’ve had enough of bein’ nice, I’ve had enough of right and wrong, I’ve had enough of tryin’ to love my brother…. I’ve had enough of being trodden on, my passive days are gonna be long gone. If you slap one cheek, well, I ain’t gonna turn the other.” This is from a song titled “Had Enough” written by a rock-n-roll band called The Who. I find myself repeating it in my head, every once in a while, when I have those moments where I throw up my apathetic hands and say “Why bother.” It is becoming an easy thing to do considering I’m watching our basic human value system being turned upside to satisfy the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. This is why I need to be strengthened by Scripture in order to get a new dose of hope and I’m probably not alone in this.

The Book of Romans can be considered the Fort Knox of the Christian faith as it will point out the problem of mankind, the living hope we have in Jesus Christ and is a guidebook to show how “the righteous shall live by faith.” When we get to Romans 15:13 we read this prayer, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” I think this is something Paul puts in there because it is something he wants every believer to experience, however, there are questions that can arise as well.

“Does that verse even come close to describing me? Can I honestly say that my life is filled with all joy and peace in believing? Do I abound in hope?” And, since we all tend to give ourselves the benefit of a doubt in these matters, I need to ask, “Would my family or good friends describe me as being filled with all joy and peace in believing and abounding in hope?”

I think in some varying degrees we, as believers and followers of Christ, all can fall short of experiencing what Romans 15:13 says but we can also benefit by thinking about what it means and how we can grow in joy, peace and hope. Ain’t no one out there gonna say, “I’m not interested in having any joy or peace and I sure don’t wanna abound in hope.” On the contrary, I think that every Christian is looking for these qualities, if they weren’t they would follow objects made from wood…anyway, it isn’t too far fetched to understand that not everyone who claims Christ as Savior is totally filled with all three of these ingredients.

I saw this on the interwebs and I think it is something that we can dig into. “The God of hope wants us to be filled with all joy and peace in believing, so that we will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Even though this isn’t in the Bible it is still something that rings true. God has always wanted the best for us from as far back as a fig leaf goes and yet we lose track of a few things that can help us along the way. We also need to see that this being abound in joy, peace and hope means that we’re tending to the needs of others and trying to please ourselves.

The next time I am with you I would like to cover more ground on how we can get ourselves a new dose of hope when we get to that moment where find ourselves saying stuff like “if you slap one check well I ain’t gonna turn the other.” In the meantime, ponder upon this, if you will. In 1 Corinthians 15 we see the apostle Paul writes, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” In my ears I hear the importance of having our hope attached or anchored to an eternal mindset rather than one that worries about what in front of them. What do you hear? Is your everyday hope focused on heaven or is it here on this ball of discouragement? If it is, don’t worry. There is a mighty God who wants to fill you with what you need to finish well. Just gotta put your hope in the Lord…Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 16-17| You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: “No matter what the circumstances, we Christians should keep our heads. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind. It is a dismal thing to see a son of heaven cringe in terror before the sons of earth.” — A.W.Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, And your hope will not be cut off. 
Proverbs 24:14