Abounding in Hope

 There are many people who suffer from depression today. They take all types of medications to bring them out of the depths of their despair. Others drink alcohol to drown their sorrows, while still other turn to various other substances for relief. None of those remedies completely take away the depression. The reason is that we become depressed when we are hopeless. The hopelessness can come from a variety of problems, but we feel like we can't do anything to change our situation. That is being hopeless. It is a terrible state of being. The good news is that God doesn't want any of us to be depressed. He is the God of hope, and He has a solution for us. (Romans 15:13) The God of hope wants to fill us with joy and peace, as we believe in Him. The result will be that we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is God's will for all of us.

Of course, we are all hopeless without trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We can't forgive our own sins, so we are separated from the God of hope. Also, we do not have the power of the Holy Spirit until we know Christ personally. Therefore, we can't abound in hope. However, when we do know Christ, we can go to the God of hope in faith, believing that He can and will give us the hope we need to free us from any negative problem we may experience. Then, because of our trust in Jesus, God will fill us with joy, which is knowing God has us in His hands, so all will be well. Also, He will fill us with His peace, which is beyond our understanding. We can be content and at peace in the midst of very difficult situations. Then, we will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, because we will know by faith that God can do anything, so we are never hopeless with Him. In fact, we have more than enough hope, we abound in hope, knowing that God is all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving, so He will help us overcome in just the right way for us. What a wonderful God we serve. The God of hope!

#NHBaptistdotorg

Tomorrow, I intend to read Romans 16 and I Corinthians 1-2.