Romans 15:13 says: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we are ever hopeful, we can be filled with joy and peace.

I know that when I have been at the lowest of lows, God always provides a small glimmer of hope. That small spark of hope has gives me encouragement to keep on keeping on. There is power in hope.

My Dog Loki is Ever Hopeful

We adopted a dog named Loki. He has become my shadow, following me everywhere I move throughout the house. I could rename him Velcro. : )

Loki is hyper vigilant when I am in the kitchen. That’s because he is ever hopeful that when I go to the pantry, open the microwave, or rattle a package that there is a treat for him. He is expectant.

Can I say I’m as expectant and ever hopeful for what God has in store for me each day as Loki is for a morsel of food?

Hope is Not a Strategy

In leadership circles there is the phrase, hope is not a strategy. That’s because if we only rely on hope without taking any kind of action in what we hope for, hope becomes merely wishful thinking.

I can hope to grow a crop of Zinnia flowers this summer. But if I don’t purchase plants or seeds and plant them, I have no chance of enjoying Zinnias.

Jesus begins Luke Chapter 18 by instructing to pray always and never lose heart (the ERV Easy to Read Version uses the word hope). He shares the Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge. “Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.”

She had the hope and belief that through her persistent action the judge would be just.

Hope is Like an Anchor

Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.”

An anchor serves two purposes. One is to keep a ship from drifting. There is a chain attached to an anchor so that a boat won’t drift out into unsafe water.

The second purpose is to keep a boat steady through big waves and storms.

It’s easy to drift because life offers too many distractions. Before you know it, days go by, then weeks, even years and you find yourself further away from what you hoped for.

If setbacks and challenges threaten to upend your hope anchor, you will drown in overwhelm or regret.

But we have power in this hope through the Holy Spirit. Our job is to take hopeful action and to be expectant.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you enjoyed this post, I send out a Monday email each week with a scripture verse and a little encouragement to (as Loki would say) chew on throughout the week. I’ll also send you the short eBook called The Four Steps to Flow.