Romans 15:13

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

Christian hope is one of the themes of my personal spiritual formation in 2010. What is hope’s power and how is it unleashed in a person’s life? I began the year reflecting on 1 Peter 1:3  -  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” In embracing the gospel we have been re-born into an experience of living hope. And it is the resurrection of Jesus that enables us and motivates us toward vibrant hope no matter what is going on around us or in us.

Today I read another verse on hope, Romans 15:13. It underscores several important gospel realities: God (who is called the God of hope) is the one who fills us with joy and peace; this he does as we believe afresh in the gospel; the result of such belief is a kind of hope that abounds in our lives; and the Person who produces this hope is the Holy Spirit at work within us.

The main lesson for me is this: Actively believe the gospel no matter what is happening around me, to me or in me. In the moment of crisis, whatever is going on, I must review what the gospel actually is (notitia); then agree with its truth and relevance (assensus); finally entrust myself again to God’s grace and lordship in Christ (fiducia). Romans 15:13 tells us that God will fill us with his peace and his joy as we thus believe. And the result of this is abounding hope, uniquely produced by the Holy Spirit.

Lord, thank you that your abounding hope is assured to all who actively believe your gospel. You are the God of hope - for me and for the whole world. Because of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension, there is complete and full redemption. May I moment-by-moment pursue you for my delight. Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art -  thou my best thought by day or by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. Help me catch myself when I believe the lie or pursue any other vision for my wholeness. You are my health, my wisdom, my true word, my great Father, my battle shield, my dignity, my soul’s shelter, my high tower, my power, my inheritance, and my treasure. May your joy and peace fill me as I believe, so that I may continually abound in hope. Amen

 
A Prayer on Ascension Day: Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart and mind there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (The Book of Common Prayer)