Nougat 19

As we reflect on the ongoing crises and catastrophes around us; it is easy to lose Hope; to question the very Source of our Faith. Today’s Holy Nougat invites us to reconsider:

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So when we trust God we activate Joy and Peace and confident Hope. Isn’t it interesting that it is our willingness to trust God which results in the transformation? And sometimes that’s one of the hardest things God can ask of us.

While I agree with this in principle (that was discussed yesterday), I also maintain that having the Spirit of God within makes the difference. For inasmuch as God’s Spirit is within, God’s Spirit also is at God’s throne speaking up on our behalf. And being the Spirit of Truth, we know that what proceeds from Heaven is what we get. We receive Hope from God’s Spirit, Who knows the fullness of our situation and the end of the line.

Our trust of course, gets activated when we count the blessings. That is, when we remind ourselves of the ways God came through for us in the past and present. We find assistance therefore from the Holy Spirit, Who brings all to our memory.

As much of this is routine, we may find that we scarcely notice God’s Spirit at work for us, with us and within us. Furthermore, these actions don’t qualify as the visible, glamorous Gifts of the Spirit; so we nay fall to recognize God’s Spirit. If however we decide to count those blessings, we will see the signature of God’s Spirit in the mix.

Confident Hope then is not so much about the sense of How things unfold; as it is in knowing Who unfolds it. It is the assurance birthed in knowing that God’s Spirit accompanies us through the furnaces of Life, and seals the mouths of lions. For God remains faithful and will not changed and will not forsake us. The songwriter captures it succinctly by saying; I’ve got confidence God is going to see me through; no matter what the case may be; my God is going to fix it for me. Another says What You (God) cannot do, what God cannot fix does not exist.

Understanding God’s Spirit is essential for us as believers; especially when faced with the principalities and powers at work around us. Then, having grasped the essence of God’s Spirit, we might consider exploring the Fruit and the Gifts of God’s Spirit.

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May all we seek be found in Christ