It is tough for me to admit that at one time I thought life was basically a futile pursuit and God was unable to help someone like me. I had very little hope. I am grateful that I don't feel that way most of the time, although I still have my moments.
The little strip of paper I picked up as I left the YMCA this morning had this verse:
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.
The first part of that verse caught my eye; "the God of hope". When I looked at life through glasses which made everything look futile and dreadful, I was not open to "the God of hope". I was dealing with a "god of futility and dread".
But I desparately needed to try and lose those eye glasses. I needed to open up my eyes and heart to the possibility that maybe I had more to learn about who God was, and back that up with action in community with others with similar struggles.
In time, I began to discover "the God of hope" that verse talks about. And that gives me a different perspective on life.
And maybe, just maybe, I still don't fully understand God. Who does? I have to continually challenge beliefs about God's direction for my life that don't appear to be consistent with being "filled with all joy and peace..." For example, I admit that it seems impossible, certainly unlikely, that I could be filled with "all joy and peace". That I could "overflow with hope". So I have to ask myself, what does that say about the god I am relying on?
So for me it is a process that simply involves being open and willing to develop spiritually. How cool would it be to tap into the power of a Holy Spirit that I fills me with "all joy and peace"? I want to be open to a path that leads me closer and closer to something like that.
