Romans 15:13 2/26/2019*

“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.”

Hope is important. Without it, people perish. We see this more and more as our society spirals into the depths of despair and anxiety.

In this verse Paul makes an amazing statement. He refers to God as “The God of Hope”. He asserts that you can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and that God will fill you with joy and peace “as you trust in Him”.

The last phrase is the key that will change your life…you must trust in Him…you must choose to trust The God that gives Hope.

This Christmas both my kids had just gotten new apartments, so I gave one of them a little wooden sign that said, “choose happy”.  I have been mocked for the gift as it did not meet “fixer upper” standards (and to be honest is was purchased on Christmas eve) but the theme rings true.

Each day I must choose what I am going to focus on…either my long list of problems, or the fact that I can trust my God to handle them.

If I focus on the problems, anxiety and restlessness will result in more stress and create more problems… If I focus on trusting God, it will cause the anxiety to subside and allow me to deal with issues I need to deal with.

There is no way to have peace without Trust. There may be problems that must be solved, and healing that needs to take place, but without trusting God there is no way to acquire hope.… Take care of yourself, address your needs, and choose to trust God, and rest in the hope that only He provides.

Deliberately pick contentment. Not in a shallow way ignoring reality but by focusing on the fact that God loves you and has promised that nothing in all creation can separate you from that love. Make that your foundation and you will have hope.

There will still be storms but anyone can ride out a storm as long as they have hope.

“Choose happy”
 - Boyd’s ugly little sign