The 2025 theme for Southern Baptists of Texas Convention women’s ministry is “Abounding in Hope.” This hope is beautifully expressed in Romans 15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the Holy Spirit.”
When we read this text and focus on the key word “hope,” it’s natural to understand it from the perspective of our English language. However, if we do this, we miss the riches of the original meaning.
In English, hope means “to want something to happen or to be true.” In Greek, the word is quite the opposite. To the New Testament readers, it meant the following according to the Blue Letter Bible: “a joyful confident anticipation of good things—both eternal salvation and earthly good.”
As you can see, these two definitions differ greatly. The original Greek meaning corrects our understanding of hope from being a desire to being a joyful anticipation. We must amend our thinking about this word to grasp its profound implications. Biblical hope is the joyful confident anticipation of good.
So, what does God say in this text? First of all, He identifies Himself as the source of hope. And yet, He is also the means by which we receive hope, for it is His Spirit that infuses us with this heartfelt response to Him. He doesn’t give this gift reservedly but liberally so that we overflow with hope. God gives abundantly, not withholding what we need but giving us more than we need. Is this how we see our God?
What is our role in the process? We must believe—not only initially as we trust Jesus to save us, but daily as we trust Him to do what He has promised in giving us a confident, joyful expectation of good in this life and in the one to come.
The fruit of this belief is joy and peace. Both responses are birthed in our hearts as we remind ourselves about the truth of God and His good gifts. While God fills us with joy, we must also intentionally choose it no matter our situation for it is the result of His presence, not our circumstances (James 1:2-5). Peace, as defined by the Blue Letter Bible, means “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is”—is an invaluable companion to joy.
Once we respond to Him with total devotion, we can expect His Spirit will provide us with an overflowing supply of hope. We have only to receive it. An offering of thanksgiving is the appropriate response to God for this precious gift.
But what if we feel hopeless? How can we understand this emotional state and its remedy?
When we are tempted by hopelessness, we will discover that we have placed our hope in something or someone other than God. When we lose the object of that misplaced hope, hopelessness seizes our hearts. This sinful response can only be remedied by confession and a redirection of our hope to its proper object—God alone. If our hope is placed in God and nothing else, it is safe, for we can never lose Him.
George Mueller, a man of great faith, provided us with an example of hope that probably exceeds our experiences but also spurs us on in our faith. In his ministry to thousands of orphans, he never asked for funding but was abundantly supplied by God.
No matter the circumstance, George’s hope was fixed solely on God, and he concluded: “Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.”
This story from Mueller’s life gives us an example of God-centered hope:
“The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat,” the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did.
Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr. Mueller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow, I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.”
Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.
This story is a true-life illustration of what it looks like to have a confident, joyful expectation of good because of who our God is. These truths are ones we can cling to today as we remind ourselves with the psalmist, “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame” (Psalm 25:39).
Questions to Consider
1. How have I experienced the abundant hope that God gives to those who believe?
2. Have I ever placed my hope in something other than God? If so, how have I done that?
3. Am I willing to confess any misdirected hope as sin and redirect it toward God alone? If so, please stop to take both steps right now.
4. How do I need to devote myself totally to God and gain the abundant hope that only He can supply?
A Song of Hope
Living Hope by Phil Wickham
How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness
Your loving kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The king of kings calls me His own
Beautiful savior, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the roaring lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory . . .!
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope.
