May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Observations: Yesterday, I heard a teacher mention "abstract nouns." This verse is full of them: hope, joy, peace. Abstract means "existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence."
Lots of people see God as abstract. They believe God is an idea but not concrete. Somehow they excuse everyday miracles, crediting coincidence or their own hard work. But the more you whole-heartedly believe in the concrete, real, physical existence of God, the more you can trust his promises of these abstract nouns.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Application:
Abstract nouns are such pretty words… hope, peace, joy… but 1 Corinthians 4:20 says, "The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." If we read these and think they are just pretty words, fluffy talk, encouraging promises, then we are missing the point.
God is not about abstract nouns-- He's about a tangible manifestation of those nouns. He showed us the real thing-- Jesus! Jesus is the exhibition of hope, the presentation of joy, and the demonstration of peace.
And the real power is in the verbs here… fill, trust, overflow. God has real power to fill you with these things... Not just to abstractly fill your head with them but to fill your life with them in a way that causes them to OVERFLOW out of you!
What is the only action step in this scripture? Trust. Whatever it is, he's got this. He's real. He's powerful.
Prayer:
God, I am often comforted by these words because they have an uplifting tone, but I realize now that is often an abstract interaction with your words. I don't want to just believe "in theory." I want to believe in your power! So Lord, help me to focus my eyes on Jesus! Thank you so much for sending him to be the concrete evidence of hope, peace, and joy. Help me then to fix my eyes on those things in an authentic way. Help me to truly know the extent of your awesomeness… because you are awesome! In Jesus' name! Amen
Confident in this…
Miranda
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