Overflowing with Hope

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.

Romans 15:13

There are times when we all feel hopeless in one situation or another; a marriage, a relationship with a child, a friendship, an issue at work, finances…and the list can go on.  It is in those times that we can be assured that all is not lost and not only can we have hope, but also overflow with it.  Romans 15:13 gives us a formula for how to move from hopelessness to overflowing with hope in all situations. 

How do you overflow with hope?

…by the power of the Holy Spirit

The first thing to realize is that it is not by our own strength that we can overflow with hope.  There is no “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” that is going to sustain you for the long term.  It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We can’t be successful on our own.  We need the Holy Spirit's work within us for sustaining power in every situation.  

We have 100% of the Holy Spirit available to us every minute of every day.  How much of the Holy Spirit are you using on a daily basis?  Are you starting each day calling on the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts and actions, to give you understanding not only in His word but in every situation set before you? We can call on the power of the Holy Spirit for wisdom, counsel, understanding, strength, endurance, patience, mercy, love and so much more. From the moment that we wake up, the Holy Spirit can be invited into every aspect of our day. Don’t miss out on this amazing power available to us at all times.

…as you trust in Him

Trust is not always easy.  As humans, we don’t easily give our trust away, and sometimes want others to earn it, especially if we have been hurt.  Often, anxious thoughts take us down paths we were not meant to walk and we get further and further from His Presence.  Trusting God is what brings us back into beautiful fellowship with Him.  He is perfect.  He is holy.  He is good.  Not only is He infinitely good, but also immutably good - unchangingly good, perfectly good.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Acknowledging God in everything means that we remember that no circumstances come to us outside of the Father's will. Knowing this will give us strength even through difficulties, pains, and fears, because we know that God will never leave our side.  Nothing is ever wasted.  God never breaks his promises.  God is trustworthy.  Stand firm in that promise.

What is the result of trusting in Him?

..the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace

Joy. The Greek word for “joy” is chara, derived from the word charis, which is the Greek word for grace. This is important because it tells us that chara (“joy”) is produced by the charis (“grace”) of God, meaning “joy” isn’t a human-based happiness that is circumstantial and comes and goes.. These fleeting emotions of happiness, although very pleasurable at the moment, usually go just as quickly as they came. Rather, true “joy” is divine in origin, a fruit of the Spirit that shows up particularly in hard times.  It is a choice to live in joy.  We don’t lose it.  We have joy available to us at all times, we just have to tap back into it when we drift away from it.

Peace. Jesus defines peace in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  This peace that Jesus was talking about means rest, quiet or a stillness in your heart. It is not the absence of trouble, but it exists in spite of trouble. This peace pushes through all the disturbing circumstances that life can throw at you.

So, here is your formula for overflowing Holy Spirit Hope:   HSH = J + P x TGH  

You will overflow with Holy Spirit Hope when your Joy and Peace are multiplied in abundance by your Trust in the God of Hope.  

Picture an empty glass next to a pitcher of water on a table.  Imagine the water being poured into the glass, so much so that it spills over the top.  The glass is you.  The person pouring is the Holy Spirit.  The water is joy and peace that come from trust in the one pouring. The result of what appears in the glass is hope and that beautiful hope spills over in abundance not only for you but also for others! 

Consider spending some time before the Lord acknowledging the areas that are causing you to lose hope, share them with your Heavenly Father, and ask for your joy and peace to be multiplied as you trust Him minute by minute, day by day.

For this reason, I kneel before the Father from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.

Ephesians 3: 14-21