We all need hope. If you’re like me, you’ve been on the verge of losing hope more than once in your life. I’ll admit there have been times when I’ve teetered on the edge of despair. Are you losing hope right now? Maybe you’ve already lost hope in someone or something important you. If so, then I want you to know what the Bible says about how you can have hope—even in hopeless situations. Did you know that the Bible makes a convincing argument that hope does not put us to shame, and that God promised to fill us with hope to the point of overflowing? Wouldn’t you like to overflow with hope regardless of your circumstances?
I can overflow with hope no matter what.
You can too! Today, we’ll focus on what the Bible says about how to have hope and discover:
- Two qualities that keep us from losing hope
- Two elements that fill us with hope.
- One proven strategy to overflow with hope
And at the end, I will give you a Bible-based prayer that you can pray whenever you’re losing hope. It’s a prayer perfectly aligned with God’s will, which means it’s a prayer God will ALWAYS say yes to. I look forward to equipping you with this powerful prayer, so stay with me!
Today, we’ll read three non-consecutive verses from the New Testament book of Romans. We’ll start with a verse speaks to the deep places in our hearts. Then, we’ll read a verse that’s a favorite of mine because reminds me I am not alone in my struggle. We’ll end with a verse I quote to myself whenever I start to lose hope. I recommend memorizing all three of these verses.
Write them down or take a screenshot:
Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. — Romans 5:5 (NIV)
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. — Romans 15:4 (NIV)
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 (NIV)
Do you catch the consistent theme in those verses?
I can overflow with hope no matter what.
That’s a promise that you can claim in Jesus’ name.
I can overflow with hope no matter what.
Anyone who has invited Jesus to rule over their hearts as Lord and Savior has received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. If that’s you, if you’ve received God’s gift if eternal life and are filled with the Holy Spirit then God’s love has been poured into your heart and you never have to be ashamed of having hope.
Please let that sink in, my friend. You never have to be ashamed of having hope. So don’t let anyone look down on you, call you a Pollyanna or mock you for wearing rose-colored glasses. Here’s the guarantee from Romans 5:5…
Hope does not put us to shame.
You have nothing to be ashamed of when you hold onto hope with every fiber of your being. Nothing. But what if you don’t know how to hold on? What it takes to hold on? Romans 15:4 lists two qualities that keep us from losing hope:
- Endurance taught in Scripture
- Encouragement provided by Scripture
Have you ever heard the saying “He has the patience of Job.” Job’s story is in the Old Testament, and tells of his endurance in suffering, and encourages us b/c of his incredible faith. We also learn endurance and gain encouragement from the stories of Noah, Joseph, David, Esther and so many others. If you are not reading your Bible on a regular basis, then you are robbing yourself of opportunities to not only receive encouragement, but also learn endurance. Please don’t miss the models of endurance. We can quickly read through Joseph’s long and painful journey of being sold into slavery by his brothers, being falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison, being forgotten for years after interpreting a dream, until finally becoming the second in command over all of Egypt and then being reconciled with his brothers. Joseph endured hardship for years and years, but we can get to the happy ending in a matter of minutes. Your bible is filled with lessons on endurance and stories of encouragement.
If you’re losing hope, write this down:
Hope is found in Scripture.
When I need hope, I open the pages of my Bible and I find it there. Hope is found in Romans 15:13, which.
lists two elements that fill us with hope:
- Joy
- Peace
The Bible has a lot to say about joy and peace. Just use the search feature on your favorite Bible program and look up those two words: Joy and Peace, and you’ll see! If you need hope look for Scriptures about joy and peace, write them on 3 x 5 cards and post them where you can see them.
I’m a huge advocate for the power of the tongue, and I urge you to read the verses on your cards aloud. We’re gonna talk about turning Romans 15:13 into a prayer, which is what I do when I’m losing hope. Repeating today’s declaration is another way empower your tongue with life-giving, hope-restoring truth.
I can overflow with hope no matter what.
Wouldn’t you like to overflow with hope regardless of your circumstances? You absolutely can, and I’m about to share the proven strategy to overflow with hope. I know from the comments I receive that not everyone who visits my page believes in God. Not everyone trusts in Jesus. But you stop by anyway, and I am so honored to have you. I hope you feel welcome and that I never come across preachy. I need to make sure you know that before I make my final point.
Hope is a gift we receive by faith.
We don’t hope for the best. We don’t. We hope in God. If you need hope, I encourage you to make a prayer out of Romans 15:13. Your prayer might sound like this:
I pray to the God of hope and ask You to fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in You, so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’s name, amen.
I promise you, that if you pray that prayer God will do it. He will fill you with joy and peace AS YOU TRUST IN HIM. Let me say that again,
The God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.
My friend, if you trust in Jesus, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. You don’t have to hope for the best, you don’t. Ask, and you will receive the gift of hope from the God of hope. God pours out His love into your heart, He fills you with joy that transcends your circumstances and peace that surpasses understanding. The Bible says that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)
And that assurance is why
Hope does not put us to shame.
We can hold onto every promise of God and He has promised that we can overflow with hope because of our faith in Jesus and the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace and more. In fact, that very promise is in Galatians 5, which underscores my point that
Hope is found in Scripture.
Look for stories that demonstrate endurance and bring encouragement. Write verses on 3 x 5 cards to memorize. And know this, my friend:
Hope is a gift we receive by faith.
Today, I shared just 3 verses from the book of Romans, but if you read the whole book, you’ll see that hope is a gift we receive by faith.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you so much that everything that was written in the past was written to teach us endurance to give us examples of endurance. The people in the Bible weren’t perfect, but they were loved by you and they were guided by you. Father, I thank you for what we can learn through their examples, both good and bad. Also for the encouragement that’s in your word, Lord. Encouragement that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us, to purify us from all unrighteousness. Lord, we don’t have to be perfect to have hope and we never ever have to be ashamed of the hope that we have when we put our faith, our hope, our trust in you. Help us to do that, God. Whether we’ve never done it before, whether we’ve never received Jesus as Lord and we need to confess with our mouth that he is Lord; that you raised him from the dead, and through that finished work on the cross, Father God, we are forgiven. We are made clean. We are saved. Father God, give us hope for what we might be facing, the circumstances that we’re in. Lord God, there is never ever anything that we go through that has an already passed through your hand. And just like we can see in the stories of Job, and of David, and of Joseph, everything does work out in the end, Father, and that ending is being with you in glory forever. That is the hope that we have confidence in because it’s a promise you’ve given us. Help us to hold on to hope, Father God. Help us to hold on to you no matter what we’re going through. Let us find peace and joy and strength and comfort and hope in you. I ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen
