This morning I did some word studies on 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 power of the Holy Spirit.
I think we would all like more hope, more joy, and more peace in our lives. One thing I have learned about the Word of God is that the instructions as to how to make it work, how to apply the promises, are usually right in the text promising what you desire.
First I went through the verse and looked up key words in the Greek to see what they mean. then I put the meanings in bullet points.
Romans 15:13 (KJV) – Now the God of hope (elpis – hope, anticipation with pleasure, expectation, confidence) fill (pleroo – fulfill, accomplish, fill up, complete, to make replete, cram, level up, imbue, diffuse, influence, satisfy, finish) you with all joy (chara – joy, gladness, cheerfulness, calm delight) and peace (eirene – peace, rest, quietness, prosperity) in believing (pisteuo – believe, commit unto, trust, have faith) that ye may abound (perisseuo – abundance, exceed, increase, superabound in quantity or quality, be in excess, be superfluous, have more, enough, remain over and above and to spare) in hope, through the power (dynamis – ability, might, miracle, power, strength, virtue, force, specially miraculous power) of the Holy Ghost.
- It is God who fills me with positive expectation and anticipation with pleasure.
- He fills me up, He crams, imbues, diffuses, and satisfies me with His joy.
- He fills me with peace, rest, quietness and well-being.
- These things happen when I release faith, when I believe, when I commit to Him and trust in Him.
- Then I can abound to the point of overflowing with excessive hope, hope, positive expectation of good with even more to spare.
- He does this through the dynamite power, the miraculous force found in the presence of the Holy Spirit who lives in me.
Then I went through various translations and made bullet points on what stood out to me.
(PassionNTPsa) – Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope!
- God is the fountain and source of hope.
- He wants to fill me to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace.
- It is released as I trust in Him. This is my part in the process. If I don’t do my part, He can’t do His part.
- Then the power of the Holy Spirit surrounds me with His superabundance until I radiate with hope.
(Phillips NT) – May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope.
- God wants my whole life and outlook to radiate with hope.
(MSG) – Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!
- God will fill me up with joy.
- God will fill me up with peace.
- So that my believing life, filled with His life-giving energy will brim over with hope.
(NLT2) – 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.
- God is the source of hope.
- He wants to fill me up completely with joy and peace.
- This is because I trust in Him.
- Then I will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As I was going through this, I thought of a verse in Isaiah that says much the same.
Isaiah 26:3-4 – You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
How can you be guarded and kept I peace?
- Stay your mind on the Lord.
- Commit yourself to Him.
- Lean on Him.
- Hope in the Him.
- Trust in Him.
Why? Because He is the rock of ages. He can hold you up. He is worthy of your trust. He won’t let you down.
So to simplify all of this, the way to abound in peace and joy and hope is to trust in the Lord.