Abounding in HOPE

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

What would it be like if we were ABOUNDING in  HOPE?   Hope is that inner sense of anticipation for that which we are expectantly waiting. Can you picture how wonderful ABOUNDING in this HOPE would be?

            

What a difference it would be to be ABOUNDING in HOPE for those areas in our lives where we still have carnal enemies to put to death.   We might actually pick up the pace as  we begin to smell the savor of victory.  We might actually experience the same joy as that man who found the hidden treasure and began running to sell off all his old Adamic inheritance.  Wow!  We'd be rejoicing saying, " I'm almost finished getting rid of all MY junk - so that I can inherit all the treasures God the Father has hidden in Christ just for me!"   We would probably be saying over and over again.  I'm going to be rich!  I'm going to be rich!  I'm going to be rich!  All the while laying aside the old man as fast as we can peal off the dead skin. 

           

 Also, can you picture how sweet assurance could become if we were ABOUNDING in HOPE that Jesus was able to keep us from falling and to present us without spot or wrinkle before the Father.  Can you taste goodness of ABOUNDING in HOPE that Jesus is working on His finishing touches in the areas of our faith?   What would it be like to come to the FULL ASSURANCE of  HOPE that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ?   NO demons, death, disease, disasters, divisions, and other difficulties; nothing can separate us;  they only serve as opportunities for God to work good for His purposes to conform us into His image.  WOW!  If even our sufferings are seen in the light of HOPE as light and momentary and actually beneficial to perfect us, everything becomes a WIN/WIN for us. 

            This HOPE would naturally spill over into an ABOUNDING in HOPE for others around us who are struggling and being overcome.  Our own ABOUNDING HOPE would empower us to testify to how although we too once felt the sentence of death in our hearts, we realize that this was only that we would not rely on ourselves but on our Lord Jesus.  

In an ABOUNDING HOPE we would declare just like Paul, the Lord has delivered me, He is still delivering me today and I am absolutely convinced He will always deliver me.  This HOPE would keep us from giving up on others who are slow and who have fallen again.   It might even empower us to actually help restore someone overtaken in a fault because we are ABOUNDING in HOPE that God's mercy can turn their persistent problem into His own deliverance just like it has done for us so many times. 

            Can you imagine being empowered with all joy and peace in believing unto such an ABOUNDING HOPE that you are completely free from any fear of the economy crashing, terrorist attacks, H1N1, AIDS,  or even Satan himself?   WOW!  We can ABOUND in HOPE to the point that "yea though we walk through the shadow of death, we would fear no evil."   No fear, no anxiety, no double-mindedness, no instability, all because we have begun to ABOUND in HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.

            I for one am interested in knowing this hope.  Let us provoke one another on to laying hold of it by simply believing that this is exactly what the Father's will for us is.  THY WILL BE DONE!  God longs to fill us with all joy and peace in believing so that we can ABOUND in HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.  WHY?  So that He will be glorified through those who are HOPING in Him.  No one who HOPES in Him shall ever be ashamed.

HOPE MAKETH NOT ASHAMED - for the LOVE OF GOD IS SHED ABROAD

in our hearts by the HOLY SPIRIT!

~Alan (he wrote this a while back, but I wanted to re-write it on my heart today:)

Also, remembering Whitney's words/pictures on Flourishing Christian.