I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NLT)
I’ll never forget the first time I saw this powerful illustration. The speaker took a clear glass filled with dark cola and asked the audience, “How can you change what’s in this glass without pouring it out?” Then he preceded to pour clear water in the already full glass and in just a few moments the soda was gone and the glass was full of crystal clear water.”
Now I can’t imagine God allowing the Apostle Paul to write a scripture just to tease us. In Romans 15:13, Paul prayed that we would “overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Now if this New Testament scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit, as I know it was, then this prayer must be the will of God for you and me today. Our Father doesn’t want us overflowing with fear, worry, dread, and anxiety. Instead He wants us to overflow with hope, and this word “hope” means “confident expectation of good.” And this happens by allowing God to fill us with His “joy and peace,” as we trust in Him.
Check out this same verse in the Amplified Version; “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.”
Most likely if you’ve been a believer in Jesus long enough, you’ve got some “experiences of your faith.” You can recall those times in your life when God showed up on your behalf and came through for you just when you needed Him the most. No, I’m not saying that every prayer you’ve ever prayed has been answered the way you wanted, I personally am thankful for that! But, without question you have seen God move and provide in your life. And, it’s from that experience in Him that you can allow the power of the Holy Spirit to move in you, bringing you hope, expectation and confidence that He will come through for you again.
Another cool thing is, that when something overflows there’s a good chance that it will spill over onto others, creating an atmosphere of contagious joy, peace and hope.
So today, regardless of what you may be facing, let Him fill you with joy and peace so that you will overflow with hope.