“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” (Romans 15:13) Three words stand up in this statement, HOPE, JOY and PEACE.
Our God is the God of Hope to the hopeless. He wants us to look ahead with hope and not with despair. As His children you and I will never fear the future. God knows and controls the future. He knows the end from the beginning. He is the first and the last. God is never surprised or caught off guard. No matter how confused things may be on earth, God is on the throne of heaven, calmly guiding the affairs of history.
Christian Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness so often depends on happenings. If things are going right with us, we are happy. If the situation changes, we become unhappy. Joy is much deeper than that. It is inward confidence and well being that only the Holy Spirit can give.
The joyful Christian faces life without fear or complaint. Jesus said, “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”. With God’s peace filling our hearts, we are no longer haunted by past failures, mistakes, injuries or even past sins. With Christ as our Saviour, the past is gone.
So these three wonderful gifts take care of our past, present and future, we need never to be afraid. Admit to God your frustration about the past, your misery in the present, your worries about the future. These are sins, confess them to God and let Him cleanse you. Scripture says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). Then the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sins. (1 John 1:7b)
May our Great and Almighty God grant you much HOPE, JOY and PEACE throughout the year.
Deacon Richard Gan
