Growing in Hope!

May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 GNB

The verses preceding the above talk about the peculiar nature of Gentiles and how they came to the saving knowledge of Christ, through the finished work of God, and faith in Christ. No man comes to God of his own accord; we are drawn by God, saved by him and kept for eternity through him.

This hope does not make sense to the man outside of God. He does not see what is ahead; he is always pursuing or  being pursued by something. God is the only source of hope; what man gives you is an uninsured promise, one that can be  broken.

Some key words break out in today's extract: faith, joy, peace, hope and the Holy Spirit. Why are these words important? They only find  meaning in Christ, not in anything or anyone else. The foundation of anything I will get from God is faith in Him and his ability to keep his promises, no matter what the realities around me are. When the foundation of faith is settled, then joy and peace will follow. Because my focus is not the unstable, unpredictable world around me, I am not distracted by these. Joy is a spring and peace is a river that God alone births in me. I can't have them outside of God; what the world can only give you is what it has: troubles, pains and death.

You need God to truly make impact. The Holy Spirit is the seal of redemption in our lives, the One who guarantees the promises made by God. Do I have God living in me, or is the devil dictating terms? Am I trying to carve out space in my heart for both, thinking I can use one as back up just in case the other fails? From eternity past to eternity present and eternity to come, it has not worked. God alone must control the life, if there will be impact. His time of favour is here.