As the new guy around the worship department, I have the incredible privilege of writing the blog for the week. When I think of blogging, however, I tend to think of the mom blogs: the photos of the perfect kids and gourmet recipes that they just happened to throw together. But since I'm not a mom and this isn't that kind of blog, I’m hoping my contributions to this blog will be the more raw and honest version—less of the “look how perfect my life is" version.
'Cause who are we kidding…that’s not true or real for ANYBODY.
All that said, I wanted to start by sharing with all of you a scripture that I read yesterday:
Pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NLT)
This passage struck me because normally I feel like I know it so well…and yet in this current season of life, I find myself not resting in the hope that is promised through communion with the Holy Spirit.
I find myself doubting the power of God to actually “show up” in my circumstances; I’ve been spending a lot of time stressing about my own ability to provide for myself and my family, plagued by a lot of “what ifs?”
What if I can’t pay my rent?
What if I can’t put food on the table?
What if my son doesn’t get into the right school?
What if the economy tanks?
What if … ____________.
The promise in this passage is that if we PRAY and ask God to be our source of hope, he WILL fill us with joy and peace. What a promise. And it's one of those things that is easier said than done. But if we really believe that the word of God is true, then we should be praying that prayer all the time. Every day, every hour.
The most interesting part of this passage is that God doesn’t promise relief from our pain or circumstances. It merely says that the God of peace will fill us to overflowing. That he will comfort us and never leave us. This scripture is such a powerful—yet sometimes hard—reminder that God is not a genie that grants our wishes and desires. Rather, he is a faithful father that knows and understands our real needs, and He promises to “complete the work he has started in us”…
not to immediately alleviate our pain or our hardship.
My encouragement to all of you is to find true hope in Jesus, to turn your eyes to him and pray.
Daily, even hourly.
Ask him to fill you with his hope in every circumstance. And as followers of Jesus, we know that his hope is sure and true and right.
May the true hope of Jesus empower you this week with the joy and peace that only comes from the presence of the Holy Sprit.
Jon
jneufeld@b4church.org
Thank you for that post, very powerful reminder of Gods hope and Love...
ReplyDeleteThat verse really struck me because I am struggling with the same thing. However, my struggle is believing God because in my current pain (herniated disks) He has been teaching me to worship and praise Him in the midst of the pain. He has also told me that He would restore me to health and heal my wounds, and that He is the God that heals me! After several months of some intense pain I find myself asking "When God?" Down in my deepest "knower" I know He has spoken to me regarding my healing. How it will happen I don't know. Miracle or surgery? No clue. Either way I believe God would ultimately be the one doing the healing! My struggle is not believing the enemy when he whispers in my ear: "Did God REALLY say He would heal you?"
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