“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” [Rom 15:13 KJV]
Often our Christian profession is diluted by an inability to reconcile the terms ‘joy and peace,’ when our brooding horizon is hazily unclear and the steel-grey future threatens our serenity. Our anxious spirit roams hesitantly and awkwardly in God’s will, like a troubled wind-driven cloud as we hurriedly look for a diversion to circuit the current pathway! Our strenuous exertions to escape this bedimmed way are often more troublesome that our present compliance with the divine route.
The apostle in ending his dissertation in the book of Romans finds it difficult but not impossible to locate the emphasis of his life in grace. There are at least four aspects that are unwittingly exposed in his apostolic thesis as he expresses his theology in full measure – there is the fevour of his zeal, the boldness of his fidelity, the tenderness of his love and his tireless diligence. These, like four chiming bells, ring out in the steeple of Christian profession, a call to example and a challenge for us to walk similarly. His life was a constant spectacle on the theatre of life, so much so that he is not a whit behind the ‘chiefest of the apostles.’[1]
His earnest endeavours, his uncompromising lifestyle, his stern rebukes, his strict doctrine, and yet his compassionate understanding all combine to reveal a yearning heart for God’s people for their best. He hopes for their maturity, their confidence, their security, and their calm assurance in spiritual blessing in this mortal life. He emphasizes three things:
The God of hope [vs. 13] “Now the God of hope. . . .”
God has many titles not least the ‘God of hope,’ we can add many more that appear to be foremost of his character; the God of peace, the God of patience, the God of all consolation. This does not mean he is subject to these emotions but is conscious of them in his body, the church. Without hope in him we remain hopeless and helpless.
Without hope, joy and peace are empty wishes and wild dreams. God Without hope, joy and peace are empty wishes and wild dreams. God is not only the source from which all hope must flow but also the object to which all hope centres.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” [1 Pet 1:3]. Like faith, hope is a gift of God by the animating power of resurrection. It highlights our eternal future. It is that fact we must keep our eye on, for in this materialistic culture the world is too prominent. It is God who makes other worldly things attractive and fastens our eyes on eternal issues. Left to ourselves we would be earthbound and carnal but God has raised our expectation to look outside our limited viewpoint, so the psalmist says, “Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.”2 He has put within us anticipation of winged flight to a divine tapestry of glory in regions beyond.
Hope is dependent on the working of His dispensations for the Quester says “he has made everything beautiful in His time.” 3 The merging seasons, the fractured images of love, the convolutions of harmony, and the intricacy of unity in destiny, all mingling and outworking the plan of the ages, that is beautiful, so very beautiful. What more can be done, what more can be said, for in Him all things hold together? The universe spins to his revolutions and God’s shadow moves everything into place. Therefore hope is kindled in fretful hearts as we see a pattern emerging that belies belief and moves us into submission.
[1] 2 Corinthians 11:5
[2] Ps 119:49 KJV
[3] Ecclesiastes 3:11
