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. Rom. 15:13 (NIV)
Heavenly Father, this verse comes to us like an early morning shower of grace, a mid-day fountain of encouragement, and an evening stroll along a river of peace. Such are the riches of your Word, the sweetness of the gospel, and the power of the Spirit. We are grateful you are the God of hope, and that you intend to infuse our hearts with hope.
Nothing, and no one, has to change for us to be at peace in our heart-core. This isn’t hype, but hope. It’s not spiritual spin, but gospel sanity. It’s not make-believe, but really believing you.
You are sovereign, engaged, and trustworthy… whether we’re talking about the promotion that didn’t happen, or the car wreck that did; the bad cells that came back, or our prodigal that hasn’t (yet), job-related challenges or soul-sapping relationships. You’ve given us more than sufficient reasons to have hope—even to overflow with hope.
We are your beloved children—with a forgiven past, a graced present, and a guaranteed future. You’re not an absentee landlord, but our engaged Father—not a hiding Lord, but a ruling King. We don’t have to like your timing, understand your ways, or pretend about anything. But because of what you’ve done for us in Jesus, we can totally trust you.
Father may your peace rule in our hearts, as your hand directs history and writes our stories. Make us good friends, unrushed listeners, and king encouragers to those around us. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ wonderful and merciful name.
