Feeling hopeless?

I’m increasingly aware of the pull this world has on God’s people who are already citizens of the next world. Maybe it is the aging process, but it seems to me that Christians, who should be excited to go to our heavenly home are more apt to be the opposite. I’d say more than 90% of prayer requests are about healing and health issues. I rarely hear someone say they are looking forward to seeing Jesus.

If I put myself under a spiritual microscope, I can see why I sometimes line up with the 90%. It is because I am more filled with myself than I am filled with the Holy Spirit. I base this on the Bible:

“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.” (Romans 15:13)

According to this verse, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that produces abounding hope. Most of the time, New Testament hope refers to the fulfilment of God’s promise for the future, namely that I will spend eternity with Him. That hope sustains me in hard times and is a big part of my ‘joy and peace’ in believing. God wants me to abound in it, a word that is hard to translate from Greek to English. It is about abundance, more than enough, an overflow that cannot be contained much less described.

Obviously, my faith requires outside help to live with that exuberant expectation. As the verse says, I need the “God of hope” to fill me so the power of the Holy Spirit can make it happen. He is the giver of hope.

Tozer says this is the dividing line that separates Christianity from all forms of cults that advice such as: “Get in tune with the infinite,” or “Wake the giant within you,” or “Tune in to your hidden potential” or “Learn to think creatively.” This sort of thinking might give us a psychological shot in the arm, but the results build hope on our fallen nature and are not a result of an invasion from God.

All of this affirms that human desire includes eternal peace and joy yet some of us easily forget that believing in Jesus Christ secures that. He promises it and we believe it. It is our future hope. Our biggest problem is wanting it right now, by-passing death and any suffering and sorrow that might go with it. Do we really think we can step into that blissful state by simply asking our Great Physician to fix all our bodily problems?

My experience with the Holy Spirit makes it plain. When I am most trusting Him, I am most excited to see Jesus, most eager to walk into eternity and leave this place of sorrow and pain. Could it be then that the problem with this focus on health and a long, joyful life here on earth is that my faith has lapsed, that I’m not filled with the Spirit as I should be?

^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, this seems an obvious connection. If Your Spirit gives me greater hope, then when hope lags, I need more of Your Spirit and that lagging hope will also increase. I love it that You are the bottom line for all issues and problems, the root of my tree, the foundation for all goodness. More of You means more of all else that is right and good. Keep my eyes on You today and my heart filled with hope!