Is The Power Really Out?
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.“
Romans 15:13
Imagine you are in the middle of making Christmas dinner and you are keeping a close eye on the weather. Everyone will be arriving shortly but the inclement storm may pose a problem with timely travel.
But it does more than that.
Right as you are blending the ingredients for your creamy mashed potatoes the power goes out! Your lumpy half-beaten potatoes stare at you from the mixing bowl matching your dumbfounded gaze in return. What are you going to do? The electric stove is no longer heating the gravy. The blender is no longer blending. The refrigerator is no longer chilling the pies. All you can do is pray that whoever is working at the power company can get to the lines quickly and get the power back on. You are hosting the Christmas dinner and it just won’t be delicious with lukewarm pumpkin pies, doughy rolls, lumpy potatoes, and cold gravy.
You need POWER!
Romans 15:13 says, “
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our Christian life is much like that Christmas morning. I think we can all say we want our lives to be filled with joy and peace! But then, like the snowstorm that hit, a circumstance comes along and leaves us dumbfounded and bewildered. It shakes our hope and security. For a moment we gaze into the unknown and the fears that come along with that. We want joy and peace again but we are powerless in our own strength.
We need divine power!
I love how Romans says…” may the God of Hope” (He doesn’t just give you Hope, He is hope) “fill you with all joy and peace IN BELIEVING” (the action on your part) “that you may ABOUND in Hope” (not just have enough to get by but thrive) “through the POWER of the Holy Spirit” (we need to plug back into the power source…the Holy Spirit).
Let’s read that verse backward for a better understanding.
Through the Power of the Holy Spirit,
You may abound in hope,
In Believing...
May the God OF hope fill you with ALL Joy and Hope!
If that should happen to me Christmas morning the first thing I would do is call the electric company so they were aware there was an outage. As we should do when we face a situation in our life where we are powerless and losing hope. Run to the Power. Inform Him of your need for Divine Power. BELIEVE, and let God restore unto you ALL JOY and PEACE! Then…ABOUND in that Hope He brings you!
I’m so glad that as we go through this Christmas season, no matter the circumstance, we are never left with the power shut off! He is always accessible at any moment. His Power is within us as His children. Don’t just know it, BELIEVE IT!
Merry Christmas, and may God’s hope abound in you as you go through this holiday weekend!
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:5
