Romans 15:13 NIV – 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.
A necessary companion during any season of waiting is hope. It is the one thing that inspires us to keep going, despite our feelings or circumstances, and that’s why this verse is so important to share.
Hope is Important to God
God is the very definition of hope. Through His death and resurrection, He became the hope of salvation for all mankind. The whole world thought He was gone, but three days later He rose from the dead, and because of that, we have hope.
Why is hope so important? Without it, we lose our confidence in others, ourselves, and God. Hope is the little engine that could, pushing us to confidently wait in expectation. Regardless of sight or circumstance, our hope is in Him to provide the very thing we are waiting for. Hope is important to God because it’s who He is.
He Meant What He Said
The words God uses when He speaks are intentional and I love that about Him. He doesn’t use just any word; He chooses very specific, meaningful words so we can understand the magnitude of His love. Notice how He says, “ALL joy and peace as you trust in Him.” Why didn’t He use some, certain or minimal? He doesn’t hold back and only give us a few pieces. No, no, no! Because He loves us, we get all the joy and peace.
This great news for all of us on The Wait List! You can have all the joy and peace regardless of what you hope for not matching what you see. For we live by faith, not sight. How does this happen? By continually trusting Him. I can look back now, taking my very first steps into our wait, and admit the void I felt of hope, joy and peace in my life. Now, over three years of waiting to get pregnant, I have hope, joy and peace (coexisting with grief and disappointment; a constant work in progress) because of the truths God is speaking into my life.
Hope is Meant to Be Shared
As the verse continues, because of trusting in Him, we will OVERFLOW with hope. Again, God uses very specific words here. He didn’t just say flow, He went big (He always does), to say we will be spilling over with hope. He purposely chose this word to signify the importance of hope in our lives and others.
Think of a bucket being filled with water. When it’s full, the water has nowhere else to go, but spill over the sides. Hope is exactly like that. When we are full, we only have one option…to share the hope we have with others! That’s why it’s so important to tell your story. Because of God in your life, you are living proof that hope still exists.
Hope, joy and peace are more than feelings, they are assurances we have because of God. You can have these and more, regardless of your circumstances. The more you trust in God, the more hope, joy and peace you will have.
My hope for you today, and always, whatever your season of waiting, is everything this verse says, “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.”
Please share with someone you know who could use some encouragement in the wait.
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