13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Reflection
What a powerful and encouraging benediction about hope! It’s Paul’s prayer to God, asking God to bless us with life giving, overflowing hope. When we think about human hope, we think of it as a flimsy wish that we believe may or may not come to pass. But Paul is talking about hope that never fails us, because our hope is based on God’s love for us and in the sacrifice, resurrection and the sure and certain hope of eternal life we have through Jesus.
Hope is a gift of God given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We have hope as Christians because out of the horror of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, came resurrection and eternal life. We serve the living Christ! That is why we call ourselves “Easter people.” Hope is rooted in our faith in God and God’s loving grace. The evidence for hope exists both ‘now and in the not yet’ as hope will find its completion in God’s kingdom of love, where all tears and mourning will cease.
In times of struggle and lament we may feel hopeless. We may lose hope and want to give up, we despair, and we cry out to God for help. But God is faithful and God keeps the promises God has made to us. God never leaves us alone in our struggles but sends the Spirit, the Comforter and the power of the risen Christ, to be with us, give us hope, guide us, and form us into disciples of Jesus.
By our faith in God we experience the overflowing of hope by the power of the Holy Spirit that fills us with joy and peace. Our trust in God brings hope that is our confidence and strength. Thomas Merton, mystic, in his book He Is Risen, says: “True encounter with Christ liberates something in us, a power we did not know we had, a hope, a capacity for life, a resilience, an ability to bounce back when we thought we were defeated, a capacity to grow and change, a power for creative transformation. For the Christian there is no defeat, because Christ is risen and lives in us, and Christ has overcome all…” This is overflowing hope.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering and Prayer
Are you in a season of lament? My prayer for you is, May your heart be filled with the overflowing hope, joy and peace of the Holy Spirit. Look for others today that need to hear a word of overflowing hope and encouragement.
Holy and Loving God, send your Spirit to fill our hearts with the overflowing hope, joy and peace of Christ. Amen.
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