God of Hope

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This is a lovely verse, isn’t it? I’ve always loved it. There are so many things I’m happy to feel hope for, and I definitely like feeling the joy and peace too. But as I’ve been reading through the Bible for Lent, I’ve been recognizing how many verses we take out of context. 

The context of this verse makes it so much better than I ever realized before! Paul was talking to the believers in the Roman Church about the grace of God to extend salvation outside the nation of Israel! 

Throughout history, Israel was God’s nation. His people. Set apart from the rest of the world. Israel was the nation who was promised a Savior. But throughout the Old Testament there are glimpses of another time where Gentiles (anyone who isn’t Jewish) would be welcomed into the family of God. 

This hope Paul is talking about is the hope of salvation! It’s the hope of adoption! As a Gentile myself, this is definitely the best thing to have hope in! Knowing that I am not part of the chosen nation of Israel, but even moreso, a lifetime sinner, and yet God decided to set in motion a way for me to have hope in a relationship with Him! 

I wasn’t specifically planning to blog about Good Friday, this just happened to be what I was reading...isn’t it the perfect timing?

The sacrifice that Christ made by allowing Himself to be separated temporarily from God is exactly how God paved the way for each of us Gentiles to be brought into the family.

God was willing to die for us, His adopted kids. Being adopted into His family is a huge reason I love adoption! We choose to adopt because we’ve been adopted and He has given us a heart for it. 

May the God of hope remind you today of the hope that we now have as His adopted children!