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
Have you ever felt hopeless about a situation? This verse states that God is the God of hope.
The Jews waited for hundreds of years for a Messiah. Now we wait for His return. As humans, we can lose hope when we look at the world around us, and look inside our own hearts and see so much sin and darkness. But that is not the life God calls us to.
The people in the Christmas story, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and wiseman, were filled with hope, joy and peace because they trusted God’s promises and believed when they witnessed the coming of the Messiah.
When you sing “Joy to the World” do you just envision Jesus as a baby bringing joy to the shepherds 2,000 years ago when He was born or do you think about Him bringing joy to the world today? Jesus still brings joy to the world all year round. He will fill us with joy and peace now, 2,000 years after the first Christmas.
Say a prayer right now asking God to fill you with his joy and peace that you may overflow with hope as we head into the new year.