“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” Romans 15:13
A recent medical diagnosis had confirmed that the pain I was dealing with would be a reality in my life for the foreseeable future. I was left with a choice. How was I going to deal with this new reality?
As I opened the book I was reading, I stopped to read the above verse on my bookmark. It was as if God Himself was speaking to me through his Holy Spirit.
I grabbed my Bible to look it up in a different version “… may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (NASB). God was promising that by the power of His Spirit, I could be filled with hope not just in spite of the circumstances I found myself in, but in the middle of them.
The question to me was, “Will you trust me?” As I struggled with this, I believe that God gave me this acrostic:
T — Thank God that He hasn’t changed. This isn’t a surprise to Him; He is still the same God and in control.
R — Rely on His Holy Spirit to fill and empower you to make the right choices.
U — Understand that the choice of whether to trust Him or not is yours.
S — Say it out loud, “Yes Lord, I will trust You! In this situation and in this circumstance, even if it never changes, I will trust You.”
T — Trust Him! He will empower you by His Holy Spirit and He will fill you with joy and peace as you trust!
What are you facing today? Has trusting God been a challenge for you?
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You that because Your Holy Spirit indwells my life and fills me daily, that I can choose to trust You in the midst of daily pain. Also, I can know that I can abound in hope by the power of that same Holy Spirit every single day and for that I am exceedingly thankful. I will continue to trust You dear Lord; fill me with your joy and peace. Amen
Take Action
Is it hard for you to trust God today? What is the situation that you face that makes it a challenge for you? Ask God by His Holy Spirit to fill your life today so that you can in fact trust Him and allow Him to fill you with all joy and peace.
You can’t do this on your own. Here’s Dr. Bill Bright on how to be filled with the Holy Spirit daily.