There is a reason Christians continue to move forward in doing the will of the Lord, and some can’t understand why we won’t give up. Giving up is not an option for us because we have placed our faith in the Lord. The Creator of everything we see, therefore, we have come to understand there is nothing too hard for the Lord. Do we have moments of frustration, disappointment, anger, and sadness? yes.  But we will not let these emotions overwhelm us. Because our hope is in the Lord, and He will bring us through.

 When it appears everything around you is falling apart, this does not give you the excuse to do the same. It’s during these times you begin to look within yourself and realize you are not alone. The Lord is with you through the Holy Spirit and is reminding you where your help comes from. Initially it is hard to turn everything over to the Lord because you are not sure what’s going to happen next. This is when your faith kicks in reminding you not to focus on what you see, but focus on the Lord who transformed your life. Then you begin to walk by faith, and place all your hopes into His hands. Paul is someone who had to make this decision, when the Lord met him on the road to Damascus. After that encounter with the Lord Paul was transformed, and became a vessel the Lord used to share the Gospel. 

In Romans 15:13, Paul shared with the Romans words to encourage and empower them to place their hope in the Lord. It states in the beginning of this verse, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” Paul knows there is something you need to be filled with and that is joy and peace. However, this can only happen when you are willing to believe in the Lord. Since you have made this decision the Lord wants you to have joy. This joy starts inside of you, because the Lord has changed you on the inside. This transformation has moved you from sinner to saint, because you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. What the Lord has done within you, has allowed you to see the potential and ability that is within. You were not aware of what you had until Jesus came into your life, and this is what fills you with joy. When you have joy it allows peace to exist within, which won’t allow you to worry. But, it moves you to call on the Lord when life situations attempt to overwhelm you. In the second portion of this verse it states, “so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The amount of hope you have cannot be measured, because it comes from the power of the Holy Spirit. In essence you will not run out of hope, because you serve a God who has no limits. So move forward doing the will of the Lord, by impacting those you come in contact with. Letting them know they have to keep hope alive, because we serve the Lord. And He is alive in us! The Lord wants you to be filled with His joy and peace when you believe in Him. If you are empty it’s not the Lord’s fault, it’s time for you to assess your relationship with Him. The Lord wants the best for you, however, you have to embrace it. I don’t want you to beat yourself up for what happened, because the opportunity is still before you. Step out in faith. Continue to walk in your blessings!