Romans 15:13 says, “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.”

Who doesn’t want to be filled with joy and peace? And notice in Romans 15:13, God doesn’t want to fill us up half way, he wants us to be all the way filled with joy and peace as we trust in him. In fact, when we put our trust in Him, we will overflow with hope.

The joy Paul speaks of in this verse comes from our inner delight in the Lord, it comes from our confidence in who he is, not who we are. So, hope comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ, it comes from our trust in who God really is and believing in what he has done, is doing, and will do.

This joy and peace comes from delighting “in” the Lord, not from outside of him, but by abiding in Him, by being one with him. Happiness may depend on outside forces, but joy and peace are steady within us and they flow like a river. And this joy we speak of is not because suffering is absent, rather it comes because God is present.

The heart of gratitude is the medicine of joyful life, so we find joy and peace by being grateful for who God is, and we delight “in” Him, not our circumstances. This means, even in the bad times, God is with us, he is for us, and he is working for the Good of His people. The enemy wants us to doubt God, but when we trust in Him, we will find ourselves overflowing with God’s perfect joy and peace, that fills our tank to the brim.

The Holy Spirit draws forth this joy and peace as we trust in God, and causes us to overflow with hope. So may the God of Hope fill you up today as you put your confidence in Him.

Dr. SueLee Jin has a Bachelor’s from Miami University and a Masters of Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry for Randy Clark Scholars from United Theological Seminary. SueLee has a passion for reaching people through the gospel for salvation, healing, and wholeness for individuals and for cultural transformation as she partners with the Holy Spirit. She and her husband, Young, have two grown children and grandkids. SueLee, as well as our other four pastors, take turns bringing the message on Sunday Mornings.