A Verse of Hope #verse2014

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

 This verse is such a blessing to me.  It goes right along with my one word for the year - hope.  For the matter of brevity, I will break it down into five clauses to think upon.

1. God of hope -  Hope comes from God, it is of God.  We do not generate hope for ourselves

2. fill you with all joy and peace - The emphasis is on the ALL ,   we have access to the greatest amount of joy and peace - totality--complete joy... complete peace....

3. trust in him - Our access to this complete joy and peace is directly related to our trust in God.  The more I let go of my anxious thoughts and worries and trust in my loving and sovereign God , the more I will experience true full joy and peace regardless of my circumstances.

4. overflow with hope - Not only do I receive joy and peace as I surrender my will to God and trust in him wholly, but I will also receive hope.  In fact, my cup runneth over with hope!   Joy , peace and hope must be related.

5. by the power of the Holy Spirit - Joy, peace, and hope are not things I can attain on my own.  They are given to me by the Holy Spirit of God.

My God is Hopeful. My God is Peaceful.  My God is Joyful. My God is Powerful.  And my God loves me and fills me with his hope, his peace, his joy, and his power sustains me as I trust in Him more and more.

Personalizing the verse and saying it aloud is helpful to me.

May the God of hope fill Mary with all joy and peace as Mary trusts in him, so that Mary may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   

I will focus on this verse throughout the year in combination with my word hope.

Lord, you are my God of hope. Thank you for being so generous with me. Help me to trust you completely with every part of my life, so that you can fill me to overflowing with your Holy Spirit and I might have all joy and all peace and your hope.

Do you have a verse that you can focus on this year?