Time with God - March 31, 2016

Romans 15:13 (NLT)

I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God can help you overflow with hope!

Jacob works as an evangelist for the Ambassadors for Christ International team in India, and knew a man who was the caretaker of a lake. Sadly, this beautiful lake was no longer a happy place for recreation. It had become a place of despair and death where young people who believed they had nothing to live for drowned themselves. Young lives cut short by the enemy, unable to realise the potential God had built into them. Young people needlessly dying because they did not know the hope of the Gospel.

The caretaker of the lake became very sad and frustrated because he couldn't change this situation. Eventually he gave into despair and decided he might as well drown himself, too. However, Jacob was able to bring the life-giving news of the love of Jesus Christ to him, so his life in this world and the next was saved.

Real hope is a result of the Holy Spirit witnessing to our heart that God loves us and that, in spite of the ups and downs of life, there is purpose and meaning for our lives. Hope is not wishful thinking or being optimistic about our situation, but an underlying, abiding certainty that God is not only in charge, but is working things out for our best: "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28, NIV).

Our expectation in all circumstances is that He is working out the details for His glory, which is also our best good. Most of the world lives without this basic confidence in a loving God, so most of the world lives without hope. Is there someone you know who needs to hear about true hope?

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