“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13 ESV
Life on this earth consists of imperfections. What was meant to be the way of life is now filled with continual strife. Rather than pressing into the presence of God, the exterior realm and Satan seek to rob. Rob us of joy and peace. Rob us of knowing God. Rob us of what the meaning of Life actually is - Who It is.
It is the God of hope that fills the soul with Divine tranquility.
It is the God of hope that fills the soul with Divine tranquility. Nothing else will satisfy the soul’s thirst. We may tingle our senses and temporarily distract ourselves from fulfilling the flesh and its desires, but we will never feel that perfect consolation until we rest in the presence of Jesus Christ. Without Him, we have a false hope, a false joy and a false sense of security. Without Him, we have nothing. As A.W. Tozer once said, "Salvation is the gateway into God". Without the possibility of coming to a saving faith through Christ's Blood, we will never receive Him Who descends like a dove.
It is the Holy Spirit Who acts out the gift of life that has been offered by Christ. It is the Triune God alone Who guides us down the path of peace. What is this path of peace? It is the path of righteousness. As the ground walked upon resembles peace, so the north star which is guiding the path is the faithfulness of God. The final destination we are to arrive is Goodness Himself. God is Good and He is all that is worth knowing, doing and experiencing. He is worth living and dying for. That is why the soul’s eyes must be open to seeking Him Who will fills us and gives us more than we can ever ask or think.
Our problems do not lie with anything else except what lingers within ourselves.
“Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3 ESV). We must simply call to God and ask that He would do what we cannot. We must ask Him to help our unbelief. We must ask Him to lift the burden of temporal emotions that are not from Him. We must give Christ our anxieties, for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We must seek Him to dispose of all hindrances that linger within us. For the problem does not lie with anything else except what is within. How might we know this?
Not all people have the same opportunities to begin with, but all may end with the same hope.
Firstly, everyone is born into a different geographical and historical location. Different parents, different environments, different resources, at different points in time. Not all people have the same opportunities to begin with, but all may end with the same hope. It is sad that many in our day play the victim. They believe that where they have been born, there they must remain. They believe that who they are and where they come from cannot be changed. This mindset is the problem that keeps so many with where they are. Someone, for example, may have been born into a poor family and say, “well, this is it. This is my destiny”; yet, for the sake of example, many entrepreneurs went from being broke to very prosperous. Why? Because they changed their state of mind. They did not allow depressing situations to become an eternal hopelessness. Another example could be an introvert. Maybe someone is born as an introvert and says, “well, the world is full of people, but I can’t help being an introvert. It’s just the way I was born”, and they remain at their house for most of their life - never experiencing the wonders of God; refusing to build relationships and choosing to refrain from any social interaction.
These different examples bring about the same mindset: “I’m doomed to die in the same circumstance that I was raised in.” If the automation of one’s thinking plays a part in a victim mindset, then they will miss out entirely on what God was so graciously and willing to do. How might we know this? Those who are in business know that many multimillionaires came from very broken and impoverished homes. Another example are the prophets in the Scriptures. Prophets were men of many flaws and weaknesses. Some had extremely limited resources. Just looking at the Son of Man, Jesus Christ did not even have a place to lay His head (Luke 9:58). It would have been easy for prophets to have deceived themselves with the typical victim excuse mentality. Instead, they chose higher ground. They chose to not only seek, but believe in God. Since they transformed their inner disposition, God Almighty guided their intuition. He made their paths straight. Though there were many difficult trials that were ahead, God filled these men with the hope of what was to come. These prophets knew that God was faithful and that He was going to see them through until His Sovereign Omniscience called them Home.
This is what we must do if we are to be filled with hope. We must have an inner desire to change. We must see ourselves for what we are, and then look to Christ for what we can become through Him.
This is what we must do if we are to be filled with hope. We must have an inner desire to change. We must see ourselves for what we are, and then look to Christ for what we can become through Him. “God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19 ESV). Whatever is in the Word is Truth. It is not subjective based upon someone’s circumstance or genetic makeup, it is Truth for all, collectively. If God said He wants to save all (2 Peter 3:9), then He wants to save all. If God desires to bring everyone into a living relationship with Him (John 3:16), then He wants all to freely love Him. ““If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”” (Matthew 7:11 ESV).
The Christian life is very simple to understand, but it can be extremely difficult to live.
The Christian life is very simple to understand, but it can be extremely difficult to live. We are asked to lay down our lives and follow Christ (Matthew 16:24). We are asked to love our neighbor as ourself (Mark 12:31). We are to have complete and full dependency upon God. He is the God of Love, Grace and all that is Good. He desires to fill us with hope. We must first deny ourselves (and our circumstances), and believe that the Sovereign Lord is able to work a miracle within our life. If He can transform the most wicked of sinners (such as I), then He most certainly can do the same for you. He is so willing to give His Holy Spirit and breathe newness of life into your soul. You must simply have a desire to know God, seek change, distance yourself from sin, ask for His assistance and watch a hopeless future turn into a glorious hope.
God can transform the trajectory of our life, for He is the Eternal One Who inhabits eternity itself.
Don’t give into the temporal things of today. Don’t believe that right now is what you must live in. God has a plan and purpose for your life. You will never know unless you are first willing to take that leap of faith and believe that God can transform the trajectory of your life, for He is the Eternal One Who inhabits eternity itself (Isaiah 57:15).
May all come to know the Father. May all be saved by Christ. May all be changed by His Holy Spirit. Amen.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, open our eyes to see Your Goodness. May we believe that You are a Faithful and True God. O Lord, don’t allow us to deceive ourselves into giving into our current state of mind. Give us a mind that thinks on things of You and believes on You. May we not be a people of right words, but of right actions. Lord, we seek You to fill the void and to restore what has been lost. By saving our souls, You transform our future. Lord, we believe You have a Divine plan for our lives. Guide us now, O Lord. Give us the grace, strength and intellect to be able to hear Your Word, walk in Your way and understand Your will. Lead us to the Promised Land, O God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lance VanTine
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