As you reflect on 2024, there is likely a combination of precious memories that you want to hold onto and heartbreak that you’d like to forget. Maybe last year was more bitter for you than sweet. Maybe it was downright gut-wrenching. Is it even possible to walk into the unknowns of 2025 with joy, peace, and hope? Scripture answers with a resounding, “Yes!”
“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.” Romans 15:13
How? How can we go into this new year with joy, hope, and peace when life can be so hard? Let’s start by looking where Romans 15:13 begins: with the God of hope.
This is the way our great God is described; He is “the God of hope.” The joy and peace that we long for will never be found in today’s circumstances but instead in the God of hope. He is where we have to begin if we want real hope.
What exactly is this hope? Pastor John Piper has described Biblical hope as “a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.” This hope is not an optimistic attitude or wishful thinking or manifesting what you want. This kind of hope is a Holy Spirit-empowered faith that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. This kind of hope is the confidence that God’s promises will be kept. Sometimes, we want that to mean that our life will be easy or that we’ll get whatever we want when we want it, or that things will turn out the way we’d like them to. But those aren't things He's promised us. What He has promised is something lasting; we have a sure and certain hope that through Jesus’s death and resurrection, we can be forgiven and spend eternity forever with Him! There is something better coming than we can ever imagine!
While none of us knows exactly what this year will bring, as Christians, we do know what is ultimately coming. We can confidently expect that our eternal future will be filled with the goodness of being with Jesus forever! As the old hymn says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” Our hope is not in what happens to us this year or what we can accomplish. Our hope is in Jesus.
Romans 15:13 also tells us that the God of hope is the One that can fill us with joy and peace. That means it's actually possible to have joy and peace, even when things can be hard. This isn’t something we can make happen in our hearts on our own. It is not by our power, but by His Spirit that we can abound in hope. How? Through believing.
Life is filled with ups and downs, beautiful highs, and devastating lows. Few things are unshakable or certain (especially in adoption). Will you be chosen by an expectant mama this year? Will you experience a failed adoption? Will you welcome a little one into your home? Will you gather the funds that you need? Will your wait finally be over?
Not one of us knows exactly what this year will bring, but we do know this: there is a God of hope ready to fill us with all joy and peace in believing, and by His power, we can abound in hope!
Father, You are the God of hope. We want to abound in hope this year. We want to have joy and peace in believing. Help us stop looking for hope in our circumstances. Help us look to You for the hope we long for. Whatever this year holds, we know that we have an incredible future. One day, we will see Jesus face to face where there will be no more pain or suffering. Help us live with the hope of that promise. Give us the joy and peace that comes from You alone. Amen.
(Photo by Kelly Sikkema)
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