Oct 21 2024

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

In this morning's verse from Romans, Paul says that the Lord can fill us up with joy, peace, and hope. If you think about your relationship with the Lord today, would you say that it's a source of these things above all else? Today, we'll dig into the verse and see how we can experience joy, peace, and hope in our relationship with the Lord.

The verse indicates that God is the source of our joy. While we likely have successes or other reasons to enjoy our lives, our most important source of joy is knowing God. Knowing the Lord brings us joy because He is good to us in so many ways. He tenderly guides us through life, He sees us through every hurt, and He loves us more than we could ever possibly comprehend. If we feel discouraged, we can reflect on the character of God and be strengthened.

The Lord also gives us peace. We can have this peace because He has promised us many good things. We know, for instance, that we will spend eternity with God. Nothing and no one can take away our salvation; and while our present lives are short, eternity lasts forever. We know that nothing can happen in our lives that will go against either God's sovereignty or His goodness—and we can have peace because He is always faithful.

Knowing this about the Lord gives us hope. Indeed, Paul calls God "the God of hope," which means we do not serve an indifferent God—He cares deeply about our future. Because He is good and loves us so deeply, we do not have to be afraid about what will happen when we die. Nothing that happens will diminish the myriad of reasons that we have for hope in the Lord today and forever.

Dear Lord, thank you for the joy and peace that you offer me. Thank you for your sweet goodness and mercy. Help me abound in hope in every circumstance, knowing that in Jesus I am saved. In Jesus' name, amen.

Oct 20 2024

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.:

In this verse from 1 Peter, we are reminded that the suffering we face each day will soon come to an end. At the time the verse was written people were often martyred for their faith, just as people in some parts of the world today are martyred for their faith. Even if your suffering does not take this form, the Christian's life is difficult, and it can be easy to become weary. Peter's words are a comfort to us today.

Peter calls God "the God of all grace." This serves as a reminder that the Lord is full of grace, and our suffering does not change that. Clear evidence of this grace is the fact that He has called us unto "his eternal glory." We will enjoy His presence forever—a gift we could never have earned ourselves, but nevertheless are the beneficiaries of.

After we have suffered, the verse says that God will make us perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. That's a lot of promises! Making us perfect means that God will continue to sanctify us; suffering evidently plays a part in helping us live holy lives. Establish means that we will be rooted and grounded in the Lord. Strengthen means that the Lord will make us strong in Him, giving us the ability to follow Him, even when it becomes difficult. Settle means that we will have peace. Even if our own suffering may seem unbearable, we can remember that it is pointing to something better if we endure it unto the Lord.

Remember that God does not look down on us when we suffer. He is not watching us with indifference or wishing that we would endure it more faithfully. Much to the contrary, He stepped into suffering for our sake. He did not sit and watch; rather, He came to Earth and died on a cross for us. He endured tremendous suffering so that one day we could experience eternal glory in Him.

Dear Lord, thank you for the promise of eternal glory. I look forward to the day when I will rest in your Kingdom perfectly forever. Thank you for being with me and guiding me every moment of my life. Thank you for your precious love. In Jesus' name, amen.