I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NLT

The whole world is daily bombarded with nothing but stressful events, from Covid-19 to political upheavals and life-altering trials. But when you understand that whoever controls the narrative controls the people, you will take heed to what and how you hear (Mark 4:24a, Luke 8:18a, Matthew 24:4). If we pay too much attention to what is going on around us through the media and the people who are not speaking hope and life, we risk losing our balance.

Against the fear and hopelessness that the media and governments of the world perpetuate, the Lord gave us believers a secret weapon, GREAT HOPE! This hope is neither based on our surrounding nor yet on our leaders and their promises of ending the pandemic and the political upheavals.

The Lord knew about this present time when He told the disciples in John 16:32-33 specific to their time and now to us as social distancing and lockdowns have taken full hold across the whole world: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Our text of today elaborates on this point, this God of hope fills us with joy and peace if we believe, and so shall we abound in that same hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So dear child of God, garnish your mind and remain focused on the Lord, and not on the storm. Remember, our reasonable service at this time is to instill the truth of God’s word, the only truth that transforms lives and gives the GREAT HOPE. Selah.