Day 36 - Hope Is Powerful

Because of the Spirit, we abound with hope and are filled with joy and peace.

Thich Nhat Hanh (a Vietnamese monk, activist, and writer) once said, “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

Historian George Iles wrote, “Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.”

Hope has been defined as “expectant desire.” Hope is incredibly powerful. It can keep us going for a long time in the face of overwhelming adversity. Hope gives us something to hang on to in turbulent times.

As Christians, we have hope, in fact, we overflow with it! Take a look at Romans 15:5-13. This section of Scripture is at the end of a section entitled “The Weak and the Strong.” Verse 13 tells us, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” We can look at this a couple of ways and be uplifted either way. We can take the approach that because of the Holy Spirit living in us, we are filled with joy and peace (two facets of the fruit of the Spirit), and because of that, we overflow with hope. Or we can take the approach that because of the Holy Spirit living and moving in us, we overflow with hope and as a result, are filled with joy and peace. Either way we look at it, we are the beneficiaries of the abundant blessings bestowed by the Holy Spirit.

In this section of Scripture, Paul was talking to a very diverse culture and community. It was made up of Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free people, rich and poor, strong and weak. Its very diversity made it difficult for each group of people to be accepting of all other groups of people. But Paul’s advice to them is good for us today: Accept others as Christ has accepted you, and God is given the glory. Earlier in the same letter, Paul writes of the Holy Spirit pouring out the love of God into their hearts (Romans 5:1-5). Again there is the idea that we are overflowing because of the abundant gifts of the Spirit. The peace, joy, and hope of God are all qualities of His love in our hearts. Their ability (and ours) to love each other is based in the transforming presence of the Spirit. He brings us a shared hope, peace and love.

Having something in common with someone goes a long way toward forming a connection with them. When people who sail meet other people who sail, there is an immediate connection. Their passion for sailing provides a bond for fellowship. How much more should our love for our Christian brothers and sisters provide those same bonds?

The Holy Spirit has provided us everything we need for a rich and transformed life. Have you accepted that?