The God of Hope

A lot of people are calling me, obviously concerned for me and the family. But ironically, I'm more concerned for them. The news has come as a shock to many (the family and I, at least, have had a few weeks to come to terms with the possibility of cancer).

One of the key things for anybody experiencing something similar to me is hope. If you lose hope, you've already lost the battle. And yet at the same time, denial of the reality does nobody any good. In other words, we should recognise the seriousness of the situation, while at the same time not allowing ourselves to be robbed of hope.

How do you walk such a fine line? I believe it is God Himself who is the answer. In Romans 15:13, Paul writes:

"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."

How is it possible to "overflow with hope" in an apparently hopeless situation? The secret, according to Romans 15:13, is to discover "the God of hope". And you'll notice that it says that the God of hope will "fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him..." It is all about a relationship of trust in the God of hope. Only then can we experience the "overflow" of hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The ones I feel for are those who do not know personally this God of hope. As Ephesians 2:12 puts it, they are "without hope and without God in the world."

Just think about it for a moment. Because we know the God of hope, we have hope on both levels - both for this life and the next. For me, even if should lose this battle with cancer, I still have the hope of everything God has planned for me beyond death. And my family too, although we are separated for a while, have the hope of seeing me again.

But my hope isn't limited to the afterlife. In this life, I have hope because I have God! I know that God is fully capable of healing me from cancer. So I have hope on both levels!