Romans 15:13

 

I am meditating on....

Romans 15:13

,

I am so excited about this new Blog area, Meditations!

The Scripture is paramount in my life influencing the trajectory of my musings and marvelings! Dictating how I live each day. Or at least it does when I am heeding the Spirit!

So what better thing to write on, then the Scriptures themselves!

Of late, I am not working on a Bible Study per se, but reading the Word, randomly to hear what the Lord would speak to my heart as I open it and read.

As a young Christian, this was my method, to read and to journal. And the Lord spoke so beautifully, as we all can attest that He does, when we intentionally spend time in His Word.

 Now I tend to love doing Bible studies and workbooks; digging in more deeply to certain themes/books etc. This too is good! But this summer, I am back to reading and journaling;)

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works."  2 Tim. 3:16-17

So today, I prayed for the Lord to once again show me what He would like to teach me or present to my Spirit and heart as I prepared to open His Word.

I then asked myself, "What am I feeling right now?"

The first word that came to my mind, somewhat unexpectedly, was "Scattered"!  Mmm. I guess I do feel a little scattered. There are so many things that I am thinking about these days, people I care about, various responsibilities, concerns, joys, goals, activities, informational inputs, etc. (like with all of us, right?)

And as soon as that word came to mind, my eyes took in the wall before me and the plaque thereon that reads "GATHER here with grateful hearts". As I held God's precious Word in my hands, His peace settled over me as He reminded me of the place I need to go to gather my many and scattered thoughts and find His precious guidance and peace.

Don't we all love to feel gathered? To feel like we "have it together'? We value orderliness. It gives us a sense of well being. Like the feeling we get after the grandkids leave, and though the scattered toys are a sweet reminder of a time well spent, there is something about getting them all gathered back up and in their rightful place that just feels good:). We enjoy the beauty of a bouquet, of gathered flowers (even as the lovely arrangement in that bike basket in the picture on my wall:). We all know that sense of satisfaction we get when papers may be scattered here and there and we finally get them filed into the place they should go.  

So this morning, as I read the Word before me, I wondered if there was a special verse that He wanted to share with me as I gathered my thoughts around His Word.

And yes. It was there. A verse I have loved for a long time. One worthy of consideration, time and time again.

Please go with me to Romans 15:13. It is simple. It is beautiful.

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." 

Don't you just love that verse? It is flowery, wordy, yes! But it is also practical, meaty, applicable, inspiring!

Let's take a look at it more closely.

Now the "God of hope". That is Who He is. He IS Hope! He gives hope. For each day. Each moment. And ultimately, for eternity. In Him, we can face what the day will bring. In Him, we can go forth, no matter our challenges, and know we have someone on our side, beside us, helping, loving and empowering us. We know, that come what may, we have a beautiful and wonderful eternity awaiting us that is beyond our imagination or capacity to realize.

Fill you with "all JOY and PEACE in believing". Joy and peace! Two sentiments that everyone desires so intensely. Feelings that everyone is searching for, vying for, trying to live for. Yet, they are feelings that are so evasive in the world today. As sins and stresses and politics and heartaches and evils and violence and deception and media overwhelm the world today....joy and peace seem as far removed as a cornstalk growing on a Chicago sidewalk (just looked out my window as I was contemplating an example and this is what I came up with :). And the words that I do not want to escape us is..."in believing". It is through belief, through faith that we come to this beautiful place of JOY and PEACE. Do we need to grow today in our faith? To believe more fully in Him and thus be filled more fully with His Joy and Peace?

"That ye may ABOUND in hope". Don't you love that? Abound? Not just have hope. Not just recognize hope. Not just experience hope. But abound in it!!! That is the way of our Lord and Savior, He who does "exceedingly abundantly more than we think or ask..." (Ephesians 3:20)

How? Through the POWER of the Holy Ghost. God's power! I really think we need to hear more about His power. Talk more about His power. We talk about His mercy, His forgiveness. And yes, those are beautiful attributes of our Father, beautiful gifts He extends towards us his needy children. We can not talk of His mercy and forgiveness enough.

But how we should also dwell on the amazing gift of his POWER to us His children. We are blessed with the tremendous and humbling ability to tap into the power of the God of creation! The God of the universe! And to think He dwells within us!! This power can be accessed through faith and prayer.  How often do I not take advantage of this gift? How often do I try to do things on my own when He who can do it for me dwells within me and I need only to look to Him in faith?!

So thank you for coming along with me, for meditating on this beautiful verse.

May the Lord bless you today. Whether you are feeling scattered, or overwhelmed, or basking in abundant peace, know that when we GATHER with Him and His Word, He will meet us there and fill us with joy, peace, power and abounding hope!!