Joy in Hope

HOPE AGAIN!
Terry R. Baughman

“Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8 NKJ).

Faith is that ability to see the invisible and experience the intangible. Faith gives us the ability to love a God we cannot see and believe in promises without guarantees. Faith is the primary ingredient to a full and satisfying life pursuing a relationship with God. 

As a result of believing, we find that our faith becomes the source of incredible joy. God has granted us the ability to believe, and then fills our future with hope. No wonder we have so much joy in the experience of salvation. His Spirit gives us hope! 

Peter described this joy as inexpressible and full of glory. It surpasses our ability to explain, to describe, or to fully share to others. The Passion Translation said, “You love him passionately although you have not seen him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory” (1 Peter 1:8 TPT).

Paul said the Kingdom of God is not defined by natural things such as eating and drinking, but is revealed in the, “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NKJ). Later in this epistle he wrote, “Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope!” (Romans 15:13 TPT).

This hope is not wistful thinking and vainly worrying that everything will work out, rather it is the confident conviction that God IS working all things for our good, that He has a plan for our lives and He is actively working in us to perform His purpose. This faith is our hope, secure and convincing, and this is the hope that fills us with joy in the process. While we do not see the outcome, we know He is working all things for our good. (See Romans 8:28, Philippians 2:13, and Hebrews 13:20-21.)

Rejoice in hope and allow the joy of the Lord to be renewed in us as we grow in our faith. We will hope again!


Theme passage:
“Now 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” (Romans 15:13 NKJ).