Our Hope Is in Him

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Hope, joy, peace: these are feelings which we all seek. Without these feelings, life can be dreary and feel meaningless. However, each of us has times in life when hope, joy, and peace are elusive. It is hard to be hopeful when the doctor shares a dire prognosis. There is certainly little joy when a loved one is terribly ill and approaching death. And peace can be hard to attain in our world ,where relationships are often filled with strife, resentment, and jealousy. Everyone wants to be right, and no one wants to admit he may be wrong.  

However, I don’t think Paul, in his letter to the Romans, is talking about our feelings as much as he is talking about faith and hope in the assurance of salvation. This letter to the Romans is a continuing effort by Paul to help them resolve the conflicts between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome. Not only were their religious histories very different, but there were also cultural practices that created conflict. He emphasizes that Jews and Gentiles alike should welcome one another and love one another, as Christ died for the salvation of all. The heart of his message is that Jesus tells us to love one another and not look down on others, no matter how different they seem. In other words, let’s focus on how we are the same, sharing faith in Jesus Christ our savior, rather than how we are different. 

The Holy Spirit guides us and strengthens us to enable us to love one another. Loving and accepting each other is possible through faith in God. Our hope is in Him, and we can experience peace and joy in our lives because of Him. This world and we who inhabit it are far from perfect, but we can still have joy and peace because our hope is in Him. 

Let us pray: 

Father, we are so grateful for the gift of your Son and the promise of salvation because of  His death and resurrection. Help us to remember that our worldly troubles are temporary and that we can remain steadfast in hope and experience joy and peace because of His great sacrifice. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.