Need hope? More hope? Stronger hope? Any hope?
As children of God, we have been made right with God by faith in Jesus. Never earned. Always a gift. We are in good standing, with nothing held against us. We live by trusting faith that God is who He says He is; that God will do all He said He will do; that God is doing all He said He would do, even if I can’t yet see what He is doing.
And how do we grow our faith? Trust and obey; keep repeating. Faith is like a muscle that will either atrophy from neglect or grow stronger from use. Because of this, we have peace with God. The peace of God will guard our hearts and minds, and the God of peace is always with us. The peace of God helps us live at peace with others and with ourselves. No need to look over our shoulder. No fear. No guilt. Joy-filled living. Ready for heaven.
This peace gives us an undiminished joy, even when we run into problems and trials. God never promised that our lives would be easier as a result of our faith. God rarely deals with suffering and pain through avoidance. Our crisis is God’s opportunity. We have been made right with God by faith! We live this unexpected journey of life with confident hope!
God knew there would be some trials that we could not get through without the Holy Spirit’s help to heal our pain, overcome our bitterness, release our hurt, and make room for more of his unfailing love. This is how we know how dearly God loves us. He gives us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
God sends us out for the unexpected journey of life with an ever-stronger hope. Hope overflowing. Hope to share. Get ready. Our God of unfailing love will place someone before you this week that needs more of His hope. Life is an unexpected journey. Live with hope. Share the hope we have in Jesus.