Romans 15:13 (ESV) — 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.

Hope is a powerful thing. People that lose hope in life struggle under the weight of despair. It could be about the state of your marriage, prospect of finding the right career field or getting a good job opportunity or overcoming panic attacks. 

I struggled for years with panic attacks. I had no idea what they were or where they came from. The anxiety was foreign to me. I had never dealt with anything like that in my entire life. I thought I was going crazy. The prospect of having crippling panic attacks for the rest of my life almost left me hopeless.

Our passage today reminds us of where our hope comes from. Paul writes that our God is the God of hope. The One who saved us by the blood of Christ, redeeming us of our sins, is the God of all hope. He fills us with all joy and peace in believing. When we receive Christ through faith, our lives are filled with joy and peace through our believing. Being a Christian isn’t just about going to Heaven one day, it is about the joy and peace offered to us now. This doesn’t mean we will be trouble free. It means that when we face troubles, we do so with hope. 

Paul continues that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit in us that we may abound in hope. That is the key. It is the Holy Spirit who lives in us as Christians that fuels our hope. We must not live by the flesh but must walk by the Spirit. The Spirit in us empowers us to live with hope. Hope gives us moment-by-moment help to persevere in our trials. When we face challenges and uncertainties, we do not despair. We have hope because of who we belong to, and who dwells in us.

Are you living with hope today? The Holy Spirit empowers us to hope. We are not left to our strength but live in dependence. There we find our hearts filled with the hope we need for today.

Reflection & Journal:

- Why do so many professing Christians struggle with being hopeful?

- How do we practically depend on the Holy Spirit to empower us with hope? 

- Where do you need to submit to the Lord and ask Him to remind you of your hope in Christ?

Sign up to receive our daily devotions in your inbox here!