Hope

And then this polar vortex surged south, plunging nearly the entire U.S. into a massive cold front with snow or ice. How to turn up the stress? Power outages. Freezing cold, no hot water, no end in sight from the power company due to exploding transformers. After months and months of seemingly endless COVID losses, misery, and illness.

God, we desperately need your hope.

Romans 15:13 provides exactly what we need: “May the God of hope fill me with all joy and peace as I trust him, so that I may overflow with hope by the power of his Holy Spirit.” (personalization mine)

What does that one verse teach us about hope?

• God is the Creator and Originator and Source of hope
• I obtain hope when I make a decision to trust my God
• The by-products of hope are joy and peace
• Joy and peace are not transient feelings; they’re nouns, concrete positions
• The unlimited power making all this possible is the Holy Spirit that dwells within me

To help cement these truths in your minds, hearts, and souls, know this:

• Satan wants to rob us of hope
• We succumb to one of Satan’s greatest lies when we believe that God is cruel, intentionally making us suffer
• We have the power to hope right at our fingertips…within us…always there
• Satan’s power is insignificant when we tap into the power of the Holy Spirit
• We always have the power to choose to trust him…which then infuses us with hope
• Full of angst and fears and insecurity and stress? The very opposite will happen: God can totally fill us up with joy and peace
• Then…like a spilling over cup of life-giving water, our hope will overflow
• NO circumstance or hardship or suffering or pain or dilemma or situation is too great for God’s provision of Holy Spirit-provided hope
• Ask him for the faith to decide to trust him, right now. Your reward? Hope…joy…peace

Senator John McCain was a POW survivor of the notorious “Hanoi Hilton.” The stories of what those POW’s endured is absolutely appalling, and a good percentage died. One of the major indicators separating those who lived from those who died? Hope. When asked how he survived that horrendous captivity, Senator McCain talked about the role of hope. Those who put their expectations in, say, “We’ll be rescued by Christmas,” were devastated when that didn’t happen. Eventually they lost hope and the will to live. But those who learned to say and believe, “I hope to survive one more day”….those, like Senator McCain, lived.

We have God-given, Spirit-fueled hope ready at our call. Every day. Every hour…or even every minute of our need. Don’t allow Satan to distract you or somehow convince you that God doesn’t care…that he hasn’t already given you the resources you need to survive this pandemic, this storm, this time in history. No matter what circumstances you’re facing.