My HOPE Is Built



So, you woke up this morning and your head feels like the entire Chinese Army marched over it in their sock feet. You're shaking and, in general, you feel pretty crappy. You swore to yourself that this wouldn't happen again, that this would be the last time. You really meant it, didn't you? This was the last time you would ever use. As your mind begins to clear, you suddenly start to remember last night. "Did I really say those things to my family?" as you try to sort out truth from fiction. The longer your mind spins, the more the memories come flooding back over you, bringing with them tons of guilt and shame. The demons inside you cry out for you to go "Get some more"...."One more time just to steady you."  In all of this, there is one commodity that you have run short on. Hope. In fact, your life has become one of hopelessness. "I am what I am, I cannot change, I am hopeless."

There are two kinds of hope.
The kind the world throws at you.....

And the kind God graciously give you.

The world's hope is an empty, facade that promises much but delivers nothing.

The kind of hope God offers is found in Him. He created hope. He defined what real hope is and He is the God who is the beginning and ending to hope.
Hope is found in Him.

Romans 15:13

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.

Let's take a look at that verse.
What's the first word of Romans 15:13?
NOW.

"Now" means today...at this moment. Even as you are reading this posting this morning...God is there ready to supply to you every thing you need to make it through this day. Isn't it funny how A.A. got it right? One day at a time.....One moment at a time. Now!

Next part of the verse reads May the God of hope. God is the creator of hope. God's hope is filled with promise that He himself will see to completion to everyone who believes on Jesus and becomes a follower. The devil can only take the word "HOPE" and use it in a deceptive way. But one thing is for sure. When we allow the devil to give us his hope, rest assured that it is empty of any promises. It is a dead end that only leaves us broken and dead.

Notice the next part of Romans 15:14

"Fill you with all joy and peace"

Here again we see the nature and love of God.
Fill......over flowing, running over....not able to contain what is given.
God is an over flowing God.

God is a running over God.

God is not one who gives out in dribbles and drabs, but is extravagant in his love and his giving.

This is evidenced in His giving to us ....His filling us with ALL JOY AND PEACE.

What falls under the word "ALL?"

Every smidgen....every little bit...He empties everything into us.
Remember, this is heavenly joy and heavenly peace, so it will be unlike anything you have ever experienced before. It is life changing.

Imagine walking around in a state of joy and peace, that was not determined by any circumstance or situation that you were facing. Imagine that God was directing you in this joy and peace as how to walk out your day. You were not being driven by the cravings and lust for more drugs or alcohol, but by the joy and peace of God flowing through your veins.

"That you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

I like that........"Abound in hope".

Overcome in hope.
Life at a new level and dimension possible because of the hope that has now been given to you by God.

How is all this possible?
through the POWER of the Holy Spirit that now lives in me since I worked the first three steps.

Step #1---the realization that I am powerless over my addiction. The evidence being that my life has become unmanageable. The harder I try to manage it, the behinder I get.

Step #2 -  After all my attempts to strong arm myself into sobriety, I realize that I am the problem. Any hope of breaking free from this lifestyle has got to come from some power outside of myself. This thinking and deduction has lead me to the cross of Christ, where I meet the real power. The real HIGHER Power.

Step #3 - I accept my current state of life and surrender my will and my life over to the care of God. I don't have to be a theological wizard and have multiple degrees.....I just surrender to God as I understand Him today, realizing that my understanding of God will change as I take this journey in recovery.

Hope! What a comforting word,especially when it is pointing me toward God.

God on you....

mb