Thursday, April 16, 2009

ABC's of the Word

I'm joining with Pam at Grey Like Snuffie today for the ABC's of the Word. This week we're using the letter:


The verse I've chosen happens to be one of my very favorite verses:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit....Romans 15:13

These are some powerful words!!


I know that there are many times that I feel like I'm running on a half-tank or even empty trying to meet the demands of my daily life.

And yet, here--in this verse--Paul is telling the believers in Rome that it is possible to overflow with hope as God fills us with all joy and peace

OVERFLOW???

How do we get to the overflow with joy and peace and trust and hope?

Oh, I want to overflow--feel full to the point of brimming--not empty, not even half-full!!

I want to be the person whose joy can light up a room, whose peace is felt by those around me even in the toughest of situations.

HOW?

Let's reread the verse carefully and we can see--

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.

And here it is--this joy, peace, and hope has everything to do with the power of the Holy Spirit, the trust that no matter what the situation God has the power and strength to guide and see us through.

Throughout the Book of Romans, Paul time and time again quotes the Old Testament--passages about praising God, worshiping Him, singing to Him, rejoicing in Him.

I'm thinking that the way to this joy is through praise--praise to God no matter what our circumstances are--praise for the good times, praise for the bad times, praise for even the smallest thing we may notice in our daily lives.


It is difficult to praise God for hard times, but I have found that these are the times that God works the most in my life, brings me to new understandings of His power, might and strength, makes me lean harder and harder upon Him and less upon myself.



Yes, I want to overflow with joy, so I will praise God--even in t
hose storms--for everything!



Phil Ware--Heartlight


My Father,

I come to You this morning. My heart is full of many things all of which You know and understand. I have no understanding of some of the circumstances that You have given me, but I rest in the trust that You have greater plans and purposes for each of these situations.

Help me to praise You always, especially in the most difficult of times. Open my eyes, my heart and my mind so that Your Holy Spirit may work through me and in me so that I may overflow with joy in You.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen







11 comments:

pam said...

Oh Beth...this was such an encouraging post...thank you....praising God no matter what. AMEN

Yolanda said...

I'm drinking as this is LIVING WATER!

Just A Girl said...

Joy. I think this is such a misunderstood word, but you've broken it down so beautifully!!
Thanks!!!!

:) Cori G.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this. I choose the same verse. I too long to overflow with joy.Praising God with you.

Kathy b

Peggy said...

Praising Jesus with you Beth...so we can be filled up with JOY, HOPE, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I love your JOY verse, your honest prayer & your reflection of Romans!

Let's FILL up our tanks to overflow!

Blessings for searching the HOW & ending up in PRAISE no matter what... truly it's a challenge but you are so right & precious in His sight! May the God of HOPE who sees all your daily trials FILL you with all JOY and PEACE as you TRUST in HIM!!!

So that Beth may overflow with HOPE
by the POWER of the Holy Spirit!
(I downloaded this Heartlight also because I LOVED it's beauty!)

Aren't you glad that many chose JOY? To me that confirms GOD wanting to spread His JOY to all of us! Great blessings in this verse, need to commit it in my memory & guard it in my heart!

Knittin Kudzu said...

Beth, Thank you, thank you for this post! I needed it! Hope your day filled to overflowing with blessings and JOY!

Sandy

luvmy4sons said...

The Lord inhabits the praise of His people...a good way to abide in Him and a good way to find joy! Blessings to you!

LAURIE said...

I wanted to let you know about a new feature on my blog. I want all of my faithful blogging friends to get acquinted with one another and I would love to highlight you and your blog for others to read about.

Come on over and check it out, and let me know if you would like to participate in "Circle of love".

Blessings, Laurie

Omah's Helping Hands said...

Amen! What an awesome post. You have really blessed me tonight. Thank you for the great reminder of overflowing with joy and peace. I love His perfect timing and the way He gets His messages out. Love and blessings to you!

Aunt Kathy said...

You are a JOY to God.

Stacy said...

Your words brought joy to my heart. Thank you for sharing your insights and for being such an encouragement. Loved your heartfelt prayer.