Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
This is one of the great verses in Paul’s letter, given in the form of a pray of blessings. Each part of this verse is significant. Before reading this verse, it is helpful to see this as the culmination of many other ideas in this letter. Paul has shown that Jesus Christ is God’s solution to the problem of sin and self. When we commit ourselves totally to Christ in faith, shown in baptism and dying to the old way of life, we experience freedom from sin. The Holy Spirit empowers us and guides us into holiness and love. The result is a powerful hope for eternal life and blessed life on earth. This verse is a prayer that God who provides this hope will grow within us joy and peace. When we hope in salvation through Christ, this hope sustains us through trials and struggles. Deep within us the Holy Spirit grows a joy and peace (see Galatians 5:22-23). The presence of the Holy Spirit is the source of this hope. Many people around us live in despair. They have little to hope for, except perhaps to pay off bills, buy a new car, have a nice house, grow a big retirement fund. What is all this for, when it can so easily be taken away and cannot last? If this life is all we have to hope for, what a pity and waste of time! Hope is not natural for humans. We are born pessimists. God is the source of hope and the object of our hope. He plants within our hearts the seed of hope. Sin distorts this hope, making it seek satisfaction in things of the flesh. But when our hope is in Christ in commitment and faith, then this hope grows and gives us strength to face the trials of life. It drives us into mission and loving our neighbor. The joy and peace we experience are not just a little to get by but full to overflowing, so much so, that the people around us take notice. The key response for us in this verse is “in believing.” We must trust, believe, and put our faith in the promises of God found in Jesus Christ. Faith is the open door to hope. Joy and peace are the fruit of this hope. The sequence is significant: faith => hope => joy and peace. If we seek for joy and peace in any other thing, our hope will be distorted. We are basically wasting our time with putting our faith in other things. Hope is one powerful gift of God that brings strength and power in our lives. So many elements of theology are combined in this one short verse!
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