“God of hope gives us joy and peace as we put our trust in Him, and we overflow with hope through the power of God’s Holy Spirit in us” (Romans 15:13).
We, as believers in Christ, are called to put our complete trust in God alone as our everlasting Rock who will never forsake or reject us but hold us in the palm of His hands, and nothing can ever separate us from His hands.
As it is written, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, who lives in us believers” (Romans 8:38–39).
As the Scripture teaches us, “Christ, the hope of glory, lives in us” (Colossians 1:27). God has given us everything we need to do what pleases Him in accordance with His glory and the riches of His grace upon us (2 Peter 1:3). In Him, we have a good Shepherd, and we lack for nothing (Psalm 23:1).
We are called to put our complete trust in God, for “blessed is the man whose trust and confidence is in the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7), as He keeps him in His perfect peace. Our Lord’s word to us is, “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).
God gives us joy and peace in our hearts to rejoice when our faith is tested and to consider it great joy, as it is written, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances” (James 1:2–4; 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18).
What the enemy meant for evil—to break our hearts, cause us to lose faith, or give in to doubt or unbelief—God uses to build endurance, stronger character, and hope in us, as His love is poured into us by the power of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 5:3–5).
We need to persevere and endure all troubles, challenges, and opposition, for God is using all these things that fight against His truth to build faith in us believers so that we can put our complete trust in Him, lean on Him, seek Him wholeheartedly, depend on Him alone, and keep our eyes focused on the Author and Perfecter of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2), who has started a good work in us and will carry it to completion on the day of His second coming (Philippians 1:6).
So we consider it great joy that our faith is being tested, and we persevere and rejoice in the Lord, for we do not give up or lose hope, knowing that we will be made perfect and complete on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ in the full glory of the Father (1 Corinthians 1:8).
We thank the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that He builds joy and peace into our hearts as we seek Him wholeheartedly and put our confidence and trust in Him, helping us to overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit in us (Romans 15:13).
We thank our Heavenly Father that, like the saints in the clouds surrounding us—who started from positions of weakness but grew stronger in faith and carried out exploits for the kingdom of God—we, as believers in Christ, do not question the Lord but put our trust in Him and stand firmly in faith in His Word, for that is how God works. As it is written, “Those who trust and have confidence in their God shall grow stronger and carry out great exploits” (Daniel 11:32).
We, children of God, saved by His grace, will not cease doing good and loving others, as God loves us, is merciful to us, and forgives all our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:10; 1 John 4:7–12). (Psalm 19:14).
So we thank God for the overwhelming victory over all things that oppose His Word of eternal truth in the Scripture. As children of time and eternity, we put our complete trust in Him, lean on and depend on Him, as His Holy Spirit fills us with living hope that is firm and secure in Christ our Lord, and we overflow with hope through God’s Holy Spirit in us (1 Peter 1:3–4).