Ponderings - 4/16

I hope to be back to my daily devotionals on the 28th but until then, I wanted to get back to posting something.



"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)


There is joy and peace in believing. Oftentimes we look for these qualities in everything that surrounds us - our job, our relationships, our hobbies, our children - but they cannot provide what we are looking for completely. When we believe, then we experience joy and peace.

But what is it that we are believing in? We all believe in something whether we admit it or not, but not everyone has joy and peace. We need to evaluate exactly what we are believing in. Are we believing in a loving, almighty God or are we believing in ourselves. We have no control over anything that is really important, such as whether we live or die, or what the weather will be, or if a natural disaster will strike. So when we are trusting in ourselves, it is a very anxious place to be in. There is no peace and joy there.

Only in believing in God can we experience true joy and peace. Look around you. Look at the faces you see. There is little joy and peace right now. I think that speaks a lot to where we are at as a society and as individuals, even those of us who say we believe in God. Do our actions, our words, and the expressions on our faces show we believe in a God who cares? I want all joy and peace. I want to start truly believing. Today I will choose to believe.