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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. ––Romans 15:13

The New Year is a time of bright optimism and exciting expectations for the future.

It is a time of resolutions and yes, hope.

One worthwhile resolution that I would recommend to you is to resolve to experience more hope throughout this new year.

Have you ever wondered what hope truly is? It’s more than a wish or a desire. Hope is the response of a heart longing for God.

God invites us to place our hope in Him.

Our hope is a Person, and His name is Jesus.

He is the One in which hope will never fail.

The nature of hope depends on the ground on which it is based. You see, when hope lacks a solid basis, it may be disappointed. Hope is more certain and confident when its basis is secure.

The strongest hope is based on God’s word and His faithfulness to His covenant promises. Here are just two examples from scripture that show how God’s word and His faithfulness are the basis for our hope.

Remember the word to Your servant,

Upon which You have caused me to hope.

This is my comfort in my affliction,

For Your word has given me life.

– Psalms 119:49-50

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. –Jeremiah 29:11

When our hope is directed toward God in this way, we have confidence of receiving help from God. Consider the encouragement and instruction of King David before he went out to battle against his enemy;

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! –Psalm 27:13-14.

Hope, securely based on God’s word, cannot be disappointed or put to shame.

Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live;

And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. –Psalm 119:116

Hope is directly related to and grows out of faith in God.

While, faith takes God at His word, hope is believing that He will do as He has promised. Hope is the anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Hope originates with God,

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. –Romans 15:13

Hope is based on God’s calling,

the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, –Ephesians 1:18

Hope is enabled by God’s word.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.–Romans 15:4

In whom have you placed your hope?

Even if you are feeling separated from God you can express your hope in God through prayer.

What do you need most today?

Do you need just a word of hope?

That's what we all need and that's what the word of God does that nothing and no one else can. The word of God says to us that there is no hopeless situation, no hopeless illness, no hopeless marriage. If there were hopeless situations, then God would have given up long ago.

Having a savior in Christ means that the hopeless have hope, the dead have life, and the abandoned have good news.

What’s your hope?

Where’s your hope?

Our hope is the anchor for the soul.

It is the confident hope of the return of Christ.

Jesus never promised us that this world would be easy and yet all of us can look ahead to the city that's on a Hill, to the lights that call us to eternity.

…And we take hope.

As you move into the New Year, I encourage you to draw upon God as your unfailing source of hope through faith in Jesus Christ.

By spending time with The God of Hope… through studying and meditating on His word and communicating with Him in prayer, you can be filled with joy and peace as you believe and trust in Jesus Christ and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can overflow with hope!

Yes, you will be more hopeful because you are more hope-filled!