"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)

Do you overflow with hope? Is hope bubbling up, spilling over and infecting everyone around you? Hope can be described as happy anticipation of good which is coming for the believer. This comes from knowing God because he is the author of hope so the more we walk with him the more this hope will overflow in our lives and others around us will take notice.

Jesus told the woman at the well an amazing truth concerning this when he offered her living water, he told her, "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." ( John 4:14 ). Eternal life is something you possess right now if you are born again ( John 3:36, I John 5:13 ). It is not something we wait for but something we currently have through faith in Christ. Jesus defined eternal life in John 17, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" ( John 17:3 ). It is not only a future in heaven, but it is knowing God the Father and God the Son in such a way that living water (hope) overflows into your life and bubbles up, spills over and cannot be contained.

Paul writes to the Romans "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him". Trust is something that is learned and experienced. The further we walk in fellowship with the Lord the more we know him and understand his will and desires concerning us. He fills us with joy and peace in His presence. Joy is the source of happiness; it is more than a feeling. It is the ability to be content and joyful in every circumstance. Hebrews says that Jesus was anointed with the oil of joy ( Hebrews 1:9, Psalm 45:7 ). Meaning; there has never been anyone more full of joy than Jesus. As his children it makes sense that we are also anointed and filled full of joy for this life. Peace is harmony in our relationships, but beyond that it can also be understood as a treaty or agreement to cease hostilities. As God fills you with his peace, you will understand that you are at peace with Him. He is not angry at you for sin, he does not look at you as a filthy sinner, instead he sees you as he sees Jesus ( Ephesians 4:24, 1 John 4:17 ). These things are necessary for this life. The author of hope is able to fill you to overflowing with these things as you learn to trust him and experience Him by faith.

An amazing truth is that this all happens on a supernatural level by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside you as a believer. This hope that Paul is describing is supernatural, it is not based on feelings. This means how you feel cannot dictate whether or not you experience this hope. The hope is given by God and you have it. When we walk with the Lord, the anticipation of future things builds and builds until it overflows in your life. Remember God is the author of hope and he has given you eternal life, which is knowing him in a personal and intimate way. We experience this life by faith and the more we practice it the more this joy, peace and hope will spill out into the natural realm of our lives.

Today, I pray that you renew your mind to this wonderful truth from God's word. Like Paul, my prayer for you is that you are filled to overflowing with the hope that is yours in Christ Jesus. May you experience his power, his joy and his peace today as you walk in fellowship with Him, amen.

"For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name." Again, it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples." And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him" (Romans 15:8-12)

We have a lot to praise God for. Did you know that if you were born outside of the Jewish nation, up until Jesus, you were outside of God's covenant? We were lost and hopeless without God in this world ( Ephesians 2:13-14 ). But because of God's great love, mercy and faithfulness Christ became a servant to the Jewish nation in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs. The promise was Jesus, the hope of Israel and author of salvation. Now we who were once far away and excluded from the promise have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Through faith we are included in a better and more perfect covenant.

Many scriptures are fulfilled when we celebrate and praise God for this mercy and grace not originally covenanted to us. Once we were outsiders, but God confirmed and ratified the words spoken throughout the scriptures when he sent Jesus to earth. Not only for the Jewish nation, but for the sins of the entire world so that anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame ( I John 2:2, Romans 10:11 ). The Old Testament prophesied that the Gentile nation would praise God and rejoice in His redemptive work. Paul brings those passages to the forefront so that we will know this was always part of the plan.

We can celebrate and praise God continually for what he has done. He has included us in the promise of Christ and has offered us the same privileges that the Jewish nation has always enjoyed. We are no longer foreigners to His promises, but through faith we have become heirs and considered as sons and daughters of God ( Romans 8:17 ). Ephesians tells us that Jesus "came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit ( Ephesians 2:17-18 ). What a marvelous truth to know and understand. We have been accepted by God as He extends love and mercy toward us based on His covenant with us.

Today, I am so thankful for inclusion in the promises of God. I am so grateful that God sent Jesus to offer me a more perfect covenant of grace based not on what I do, but on what Jesus did. I join with all those who went before me praising God for his loving-kindness toward me. May you also join with the saints of God praising Jesus for what he has done, amen!