Dear Faith Family,

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13).

Sometime in December we fired up the gas grill and commenced to cooking.  Before the steaks or chicken were done, the grill ceased its flame.  No more gas!  I hate when that happens.  In the heat of the moment (see what I did there: “heat”?), attempting to go to plan “B” for cooking the meat, I moved on.

Fast forward: a few days ago when I stepped outside to light the grill, guess what?!  It was still empty!  Gas grills don’t work without gas, just sayin’.  So, I called a place that sells propane gas.  They were out of gas.  “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing,” right?  Needless to say, I didn’t go fill up there.

Finally, yesterday I found a supply and had the propane tank refilled.  What’s the point(s)?

Are you running low?  Out of gas?  Maybe the political climate is draining your tank?  Maybe the racial tensions have tapped you dry?  Maybe this covid climate has zapped you?  Maybe family tensions have left you wanting?  Maybe the economy has you running on empty?

We need to refuel daily.  That’s the first point.  David seemed to “get it” when he penned the 63^rd Psalm.  O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory.  Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.  So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your Name will I lift up my hands.

Have you forgotten to fill your tank?  God is present.  In fact, His Spirit has taken up residence in you, Christian!  So, make some time to fill your mind with His truth each day.  Paul prayed that the God of hope would fill you with joy and peace.  May you be the recipient of Paul’s answered prayer each morning as you fill up with the truth of your God.  His hope is the product.  In other words, when you experience the joy and peace of God (especially in times like these) it will fill you with confident expectation.  God is who He said He was.  God will faithfully fulfill His Word to you (even when it doesn’t look like it).

We need not attempt to refuel where there is no fuel.  That’s the second point.  The government can’t give us the hope for which Paul prayed.  The relaxing of tensions won’t guarantee hope.  Money can’t buy hope.  Are we looking for hope in all the wrong places?

Paul knew that God, alone, was the source of our hope and prayed accordingly, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Running on full,
Pastor Karl