|
As we have experience with God and see that He always takes care of us and provides what we need, we begin to relax.
*Joyce Meyer. The Battle Belongs to the Lord, 3.
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, ESV
This prayer of Paul to the Church is for us each to claim. To realize the prayer, we affirm God's nature as "God of hope." Our prayer and worship and living is joined to understanding our Creator as giving hope-full-ness and causing all our hope-ing.
If we feel hope-less, prayer is a chief way to reconnect with God and, thus, with hope. Service is another way to reconnect to God and, thus, His supply. Service is prayer in action. Often, we connect to our Divine Supply when we are offering time and effort to help someone else.
|
|
When we connect with this "God of hope," what is the result? The result: "All joy and peace in believing." There we have the signs of God working: joyfulness, peace, and trust." We are offered, by grace, not only joy and peace, but all joy and peace. God has a limitless supply of everything good, for God is the fullness of everything good we desire.
Therefore, trusting is the act from our side that joins with God and makes real God's blessing. God, being all good, is the Source we connect to for all good. If we disconnect from God, we cease practicing faith, and we cut off the supply of Grace.
God has an infinite supply of potential means to bless us. Our challenge is to be available. This is why God often blesses us most in times when we feel powerless: Often, until we give up to God, we try to manage our lives, to make it blessed, when such is a result of connection to and surrender to the Source, God.
How do we, then, abound in hope? We abound in hope by the Holy Spirit's power. We do not produce the blessing of hope, as we do not get or earn joy and peace. Divine Blessing is always a gift; we can only receive blessing. Grasping will dam up the flow of blessing.
Continued... |
