Paul’s benediction or invocation for divine help, blessing or guidance is found severally in his writings. Consider and reflect on the following scriptures:

1. Romans 15:13 speaks of the God of hope
2. 2 Corinthians 13:14 speaks to the grace of the Lord
3. Galatians 6:18 speaks to the grace of God
4. Ephesians 6:23-24 speaks to the peace and love with faith proceeding from God to the saint
5. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 that God’s peace sanctifies us, that our entirety be preserved blameless until the appearance of our blessed hope
6. Hebrews 13:20-21 speaks to the God of peace make us perfect in every good work, working in us that which is well pleasing in His sight through the Lord Jesus Christ

Central to the declarations are God of hope, God of peace and the grace of God working a process in us as individuals and as the body to reach an appointed and desirable end.

The connecting thread for these five (hope, love with faith, peace and grace) is seen in Proverbs 13:12-14 where the wise man speaks about hope deferred. Bill Johnson makes us understand that hope deferred is in fact a 2-stage process merged into one, and the end of the process depends on the choice we make.

1. The heart being made sick reveals that delayed realisation of longed-for expectations makes us vulnerable,
2. The choice we make at this point of spiritual vulnerability can be to turn to the Comforter (blessed are those that mourn, they shall be comforted) or to turn to unbelief.

The key at that point of spiritual vulnerability is to take charge of your own thoughts, your confession. When things don’t work out the way you expect and you are facing disappointment, a sense of loss—realise that at the point of vulnerability you have to take charge of your heart, thoughts, confession and prayer life! In this place when you turn to the God of hope, Paul’s prayer in Romans 15:13 is most apt and serves as a bridge to entering all the points listed in the other four scriptures which speak to an endpoint in how God’s grace, peace, love with faith will lead us to the maturity, blessedness of our entire being, that is needed to meet the Lord, our blessed hope.

To fail in making this right choice is to push ourselves into the doom of unbelief and that’s not a place to be. Shalom




Pastor Afolabi Oladele