The God of Hope

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.

Romans 15:13

Of the three great virtues of faith, hope, and love, hope is the one least thought of, least prayed for, and least mentioned in sermons. Whole libraries could be filled with books about faith and love, but one would be hard pressed to fill a single shelf with books about hope. And yet hope is as necessary for the human spirit as water and food are for the body. Without hope, ours is a grim existence.

In his letter to the Romans, perhaps the greatest of all his letters, Paul refers to God as “the God of hope” and prays that his brothers and sisters in Rome would “overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”. It’s as if the Holy Spirit were a hidden spring, deep within, flooding the soul with hope.

The hope Paul speaks of shouldn't be confused with mere optimism. Nor should it be confused with wishful thinking or imagining rosy outcomes for ourselves. Rather, it's a tough-minded virtue rooted in the character of God and the rock solid surety of his promises. It is exemplified by Christ who, in the face of great darkness on the cross, entrusted his spirit into the hands of the Father. May the power of the Holy Spirit inspire such hope in our hearts.

The Holy Spirit, like a hidden spring deep within, floods the soul with hope.