Get Your Hopes Up
May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 (GNT)
Hope isn’t just wishful thinking - it’s confident expectation. I don’t know about you but I EXPECT TO SEE THE LORD MOVE this week! I believe the Kingdom of God is still advancing, no matter what happens here on election day or anywhere else.
Remember, hope comes from the Lord - not from a political candidate, not from policy, and not from anything else for that matter! The Bible says that God is our source of hope. Therefore, I place my hope in Him alone. No matter who wins today, no matter what happens, I expect to continue to see the Kingdom of God advance!
Here are two good signs that your hope is growing in these days:
You are filled with JOY. Joy comes when we delight ourselves in the presence of the Lord. To be filled with joy means it runs over. If we are filled with joy, we can’t contain it. So, others around us will notice it and even be impacted by it. The Bible tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength! Come on! If you are excited about the presence of God today, I bet your hope is growing!
You are filled with PEACE. Peace is the ability to rest and fellowship in the middle of a war. It has nothing to do with the absence of a battle and everything to do with trust in God in it. For believers, peace is remembering that the battle isn’t ours, but rather His! And I have good news, He’s never lost a battle. If you find yourself walking in peace during these uncertain times, I bet your hope is growing!
The Bible also tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick. Feel sick living in days like these? There is hope. Here are three things you need to do today to get your hopes up:
Pray: Be honest with God about how you feel. Repent for focusing more on the problem than the Problem Solver. Then ask God, more specifically, Holy Spirit, the source of hope, to fill you with joy and peace.
Worship: Begin to sing worship songs… out loud! Turn the tunes on and begin to love on God. Give Him your undivided attention and watch your hope grow. Put on a song that you love to sing to the Lord. I’m listening to “Get Your Hopes Up” by Josh Baldwin while I’m writing this.
Find a scripture and meditate on it. Try to memorize it. The enemy will plant lies in your mind in an attempt to make you hopeless. The only way to combat a lie is with a truth. His word is the truth! Romans 15:13 is a pretty good one. So is Hebrews 6:19, Jeremiah 29:11, and a whole bunch more! You go take a look for yourself.
Father, I thank you for being our source of hope today and every day! Holy Spirit, help us to get our HOPES UP, filling us with peace and joy today. No matter what happens, your kingdom shall continue to advance!