[229 words]
“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).
God is the “God of hope” and fills us with joy and peace, but something is required of us. Yes, grace and eternal life in Christ are gifts and we don’t work for our salvation, but we are to “trust in him.” Faith is required on our part to take God at His Word and believe His promises in order to be filled with joy and peace. Then, and only then, will we overflow with hope. Plumb has a song on the radio right now speaking of how we need to exhale God’s grace and love that we breathe in. And this is so true. We don’t exist for us alone but to share with others everything that we’ve received from God. So, being “full of goodness, complete in knowledge, and competent to instruct one another,” God demands that we overflow to others. The truth is that we are always overflowing with something, whether it is “good things out of the good” or “evil things out of the evil” stored up in our hearts. The principle: “For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Your mouth tells on you.
What’s flowing from your heart?
Doug Kashorek
Plattsburgh church of Christ
Plattsburgh, NY