The God of Hope

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  

Grief. Anger. Hopelessness…states the headlines of a major newspaper. It’s certainly easy to understand feeling this way. Like many of you, I was grieved, angered and stunned by the tragic events that occurred in Uvalde, Texas this week. 
 
Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones who lost children, friends, colleagues, teachers. We pray for God to bring comfort and healing where we cannot. May His presence be manifest in ways that we don’t even understand in bringing peace to all touched by the tragedy.  
 
Like many of you, I was tempted by hopelessness because it just seems to go on, one thing after another. How many of these can we endure. And it’s the children, and the senselessness of it all, coupled with the shooting in Buffalo, and it’s understandable to be “done” or almost “done” or whatever words best describe what words can hardly express.  
 
We try to put ourselves in the place of the families…the parents…the friends…the coworkers and what they are going through now, but that only takes us so far. Some things are too horrible to contemplate.  
 
We wonder what to do and how to respond. What do we do? There are no easy answers. No obvious solutions to really solve the evils of this world. We can’t control it or fix it. That feels like helplessness and that leads to hopelessness.  
 
We grieve and mourn. That is right. In the image of our Father God, we were created with emotions, and there are times like these when those emotions are raw and painful and confusing, and which tear at the fabric of our souls. Despair comes right up to the door, just outside, threatening to come in.  
 
But we must hold on to hope for without hope we cannot live. Without hope there are no solutions, no moving forward, no healing, no recovery.  
 
For those who follow Jesus, hope holds out. It may seem to retreat but instead, slowly makes its way back to the surface, as God heals and restores and reminds us that He is there and has not left us behind and that one day He will make it all right and that He alone is the One who can.  
 
Finding hope in the midst of tragedy is not easy.  
 
The Apostle Paul wrote…

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  
 

The God of Hope…this is crucial to understanding who God is. He is the God of hope. He is the source for hope. Because He is above all, because He is good, because He is Holy, because He has a plan…there is always Hope.  
 
…fill you with all joy and peace… In times like this it is hard to even think about joy but peace…peace is something we long for. Peace comes first. It settles on us and fills us. Peace protects us. It comforts us. It gets us through and above all it is the tangible proof that God is with us. Joy comes later. When we begin to experience joy again, we know healing has taken place, but it starts with a hope that leads to peace.  
 
…in believing… in times like this our trust in God is tested. What do we really believe about God? Is He really good? Is He really in control? Is He really here? Trust, belief is built over time, like in any good relationship. Over time, we learn to trust God and find hope as we experience Him through difficult times like now. He will come through – by faith we trust Him.  
 
….so that by the power of the Holy Spirit… If things are going to change, it will only be through the power of the Holy Spirit to change hearts and minds, to heal years of conflict, hurt, brokenness and sin. Real change is not possible apart from the work of the Spirit in human lives. The power of the Spirit is immense. Don’t underestimate what He can do for He can do what we cannot.  
 
… you may abound in hope. Abounding in hope may seem impossible now but it is available to all who call Christ Lord. It will come with time as we walk with Christ step by step through the Spirit. Hope can return and be restored and grow in us even after tragedy. To abound in hope is to be able to work toward making this world a better place wherever we may be. We as human beings are resilient and our hope in Him brings an even greater sense that in the end, He will work it all out. Abundant hope is available when we are ready to receive it.  
 
Today, we lift our prayers to God, our Father for the families who are grieving. Today, we take the steps we need to continue to walk with hope. Today, we turn to our heavenly Father and rest in His arms. Today we pray for all who hurt and today we hope for God to make all things right.