To Encourage You

Romans 15:13 “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.”

What are your strengths? Maybe you are stronger than the average person physically. Perhaps you can bench press more than most, or throw farther, or jump higher than the next person. Or maybe you have a strong personality, a take-charge kind of person; someone that others follow because you exude confidence in difficult situations. Or perhaps your strength lies in your voice and others have remarked about how well you sing, or how well you speak before crowds. Perhaps your strongest point is your intelligence, and you understand things better than the average person. But what about spiritual strength? Are you strong in that area?

There is nothing more wonderful than the power of the Holy Spirit, for that is the power of God himself. And what does that power look like? Romans 15:13 gives us a very good glimpse. It is the power to have hope and the power to have joy – no matter what the situation around us. And it isn’t just tending to be optimistic, i.e., to tend to “see the jar as half full.” Spiritual power is the ability to have overwhelming hope, that enables one to be completely full of joy, and the quality of having a “peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7). This is God’s peace, and its best example was likely demonstrated by Jesus as He was on the way to the cross. In that very moment Jesus promised the apostles “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Jesus promises this peace to those who will trust in Him.

Our own strength, no matter what type it is, will always fall short in some situation somewhere – and if not now, then when we grow older – and inevitably weaker. But the power of the Spirit that fills a believer – i.e., the power of Jesus which enables them to have hope, joy, and peace in each and every situation, simply because they truly believe the promises He has given us in His Word – is a strength that has a value beyond measure.

May God’s Holy Spirit “fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope.” What a precious gift is such strength.