There is a great deal to be pessimistic about in our world today. We are bombarded with bad news, we live in the age of Covid which has changed everything, there is tremendous conflict and ill will politically that spills over into relationships and it all can be exhausting to our minds and our souls. There are days when I choose not to watch or listen to the news and stay off social media because my heart is tired and my emotions exhausted. Can you relate to that?

There is a general malaise of hopelessness in society today. An underlying depression if you will and I suspect that much of the ill will and anger that surfaces can be attributed to a spirit of pessimism. Frustration easily gives rise to anger and unkindness as an outlet. 

That is why I love Paul’s words in Romans 15:13 where he says, “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.” 

Our God is the God of hope. Why? Because regardless of the circumstances our world or our lives find themselves in, He is active and at work around us. As the prophet Isaiah says, He neither slumbers or sleeps, and if we could see the unseen world around us today we would realize that God’s hand and fingerprints are all around us. He is active, He is involved in the affairs of our lives and our world. W e would be amazed if we could see the spiritual dimension of our world. 

And what does the God of hope do? He fills us with all joy and peace as we trust in him so that our lives overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. While many around us live in depression and sadness, we can live with joy and peace as we trust in him. Placing our trust in Him is the key to hope. As Jesus told His disciples, in this world you will have trouble but I have overcome the world. The source of our hope is a God who actively intervenes in our lives even when we don’t realize it. And that fact can bring hope and hope brings joy and peace and that joy and peace is sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

Paul invites us to choose to live in hope. The hope that comes from trust in God and that is sustained by the Holy Spirit. This is a gift from God but the choice as to whether we will accept that gift today is up to us. He is hope and therefore we can have hope. We must choose to accept it and along with hope will come joy and peace. In a world where life is hard and hope is scarce, that is a word I need to hear today and I suspect you as well. Choose to live in hope today!

Father, I thank you that you are a God of hope. I claim that hope today and ask that you give me joy and peace as I keep my eyes on you rather than on all the news around me. Amen.