You might be feeling hopeless today. Perhaps a dream has died or some situation in your life has just gone haywire. Whatever is happening in your life right now, let me encourage you with the truth of 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.” (NKJV)
Friend, God’s Word says you can abound in hope. How? By the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes you’ll see the Spirit’s power at work in outward signs or miracles that we can see with our eyes. Other times, He does more inward, hidden things—like filling your heart with joy, peace, hope, and the assurance of your salvation.
You’ll see in Acts 17 that when the gospel was preached in Thessalonica for the first time, there’s no mention of any miracles or healing taking place. Yet Paul says the gospel came “in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance…” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
When you look at the Living Bible translation, this same verse says,
“For when we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a powerful effect upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true…”
And I love how The Message puts it:
“When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.”
Now read the words of Jesus from John 15:26-27,
“When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
The fact is, no one has ever been saved just by reaching an intellectual conclusion.
Your mind and your will are certainly involved, but it’s always more than that. The new birth occurs because the Holy Spirit makes the gospel come alive in your heart. He brings assurance! He puts “steel” in your convictions.
Think of it this way: If you can be talked into salvation, then you can be talked out of salvation. But if the Holy Spirit does a powerful work in your heart, it can’t be taken from you. No person, circumstance, unanswered question, persecution, or tragedy can take your salvation from you.
Nothing can ever snatch you out of the Father’s hand.
