Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
In a world full of uncertainty, this verse from Romans stands like a lighthouse in the storm: “The God of hope…” Not just the God who gives hope, but the very source of it. When everything around us seems shaken — economies falter, nations rage, relationships strain — it is the God of hope who remains unshaken and unchanging.
The apostle Paul is writing this as both a blessing and a prayer. His desire is that believers wouldn’t just scrape by emotionally, but be filled — overflowing with joy and peace. But there’s a condition: “in believing.” Joy and peace are not produced by circumstances going right, but by faith — by believing that God is good, God is near, and God is working all things together for good.
And here’s the beautiful secret: it’s not up to us to manufacture this hope. Paul says it is “by the power of the Holy Spirit” that we abound in hope. That means when you feel empty, weak, or discouraged, you can cry out to the Spirit of God, and He will fill you. This is not wishful thinking; this is supernatural empowerment.
But it doesn’t end with you. The hope God gives is not meant to be bottled up. If you’re not centered in His hope, you’ll have nothing of substance to give to a hopeless world. But when you are filled — when your life is anchored in His peace and joy through faith — you become a vessel that overflows. You begin to spread abounding hope to those around you: in your family, in your workplace, in your community, and even across nations. Hope becomes contagious. And in these last days, a hope-filled believer becomes a blazing signpost pointing to a living Savior.
So rise up, child of God. The world is drowning in fear, division, and despair—but you carry the answer. Let the God of hope fill you so completely that hopelessness has no room to linger. Let joy silence anxiety. Let peace disarm chaos. And let the blazing hope of the Holy Spirit within you pierce the darkness like a sword of light.
This is your calling — not just to survive in these days, but to abound. To be a walking embassy of heaven’s hope. To lift the weary. To speak life into the broken. To shine with a supernatural confidence that the world cannot explain — because your hope isn’t rooted in headlines, but in the unshakable promises of God.
You were not meant to carry a dim candle. You were meant to burn bright with holy fire. So stay centered in His hope—and then go and spread it with boldness, until the whole world knows: there is a God of hope, and His name is Yeshua (Jesus).
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]David’s faith and courage in volunteering to fight Goliath was an embarrassment to his big brother Eliab, an officer in King Saul’s army. I imagine his thinking went something like this; “If my little brother wins everybody will ask, ‘How come you didn’t go out and fight him?’” The Bible records that Eliab “burned with anger at David and asked, ‘Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is…’” These are devastating words from an older brother. Before David could defeat Goliath he first had to overcome the attitudes, accusations and words, of those close around him.
The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked them this question, “What are you doing?” The first replied, “I’m cutting stone for a shabby 10 shillings a day.” The next answered, “I’m putting in 13 hard hours a day on this job.” But the last said, “I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals.”
It is among popular “Christian” belief that an abundance of material and other blessings follow those whose hearts are truly after God and that those who seem to consistently struggle to that end, cannot possibly be in God’s perfect will. I want to submit to you a realization I had about this very thing. I think we might have it all backwards.
A National Geographic article published a few years describing a real celestial event which took place at the time of the birth of Jesus reminded me of Risto Santala’s explanation in his book, “The Messiah in the New Testament in the Light of Rabbinical Writings”. He wrote about a conjunction of major planets that took place which could have led the wise men from the east, to Israel.
The Shema is recited every Shabbat in Israel and throughout the world: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” The emphasis is on hearing—not just with our ears but our hearts. That same emphasis runs through the Gospels, where Yeshua (Jesus) repeatedly says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This isn’t just a phrase; it’s a life-changing command.
Many families across the U.S. are gathering today to celebrate “Thanksgiving.” But let’s take a moment to turn our hearts to the ultimate source of thanksgiving: God Himself. Psalm 100 is often called the “Psalm of Thanksgiving,” and it’s a perfect guide for how we should approach God—not just during Thanksgiving but every day.
For nearly twenty years, Romans 13:12 has been my signature verse on every email I send. For me, it’s a constant reminder that the long, dark night of this world is almost over, and the Day of the Lord is just about to dawn.