Did 2017 leave you feeling hope full or hope less?
As Paul comes to the end of his letter to the church in Rome, he offers this benediction,
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Who is the source of your hope? Friends, family, yourself? NO!
God is the only true source of hope.
Hope is the product of putting our faith in our Papa God.
Faith in Him produces the spiritual fruits of joy and peace which in turn produces abounding hope.
The Spirit is the power source of hope.
We cannot muster up hope apart from the Spirit.
In fact, without Him…. the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…we can do nothing, nada, nichts, nil.
Beloved, if you are trying to live the Christian life in your own strength, you have just made yourself the object of your faith and hope.
Do you know what the result of that will eventually be?
You will fail over and over and over, AND you will lose hope!
If you put your hope in people, what will eventually happen?
They will let you down in one way or another, AND you will lose hope!
If you are feeling hopeless as we move into 2018, ask the Holy Spirit to show you who or what you have made your source of hope other than God.
Then, confess, renounce, reclaim:
“Lord Jesus, I confess making _____ my source of hope instead of You. I renounce putting my hope in ______ and I ask You to reclaim the ground I’ve given to the enemy by putting my hope in ______. I choose to make You the source of my hope.”
Beloved, remember that Jesus is the only One who successfully walked in the Spirit 100% of the time.
What makes you think you can do that or that He expects you to do that on your own?
None of us can do that?
So, purpose to learn to make God the source of your hope and power to walk according to the Spirit instead of your flesh.
One simple way to do that is to start your day setting your mind with this prayer:
“Thank You, Lord, for this new day. I need You to do all things through me today. I choose to be empty of myself, and I ask You to fill me afresh with Your Spirit to be my power source today so that You can express Yourself in me and through me for Your glory.”
So, beloved, let’s resolve to put our hope in Jesus and allow His joy, peace and hope to abound in our lives for His glory!
Have a blessed 2018! May this be the year of His coming for His Bride!
Robyn Henning