The darkness of these days is getting to me Father. With it getting dark so early, due to the time change, and the overcast day it has been, I ask that You would light up my heart and mind with Your presence. Amen.
Romans 5:1-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
Alight, I sat down to read and write, and I copied and pasted the passage to read through a couple of versions. I read through the New Living Translation (NLT), the Amplified Bible (AMP), and the New International Version (NIV). As is often the case, words and phrases were jumping out at me, grabbing my attention. Only after reading some of them through a couple of times, did I realize that I hadn’t shifted to the next portion of verses after yesterday’s portion – I had read through yesterday’s portion all over again!
I tell you; God’s Word is living and though it was written so long ago, it is so full of life! Its age makes no difference, it continues to speak, to impact, to change lives! Who am I to argue if God’s Word, has something else to say!?
…our confident hope of salvation…will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. v4b-5
One of many songs I remember from my childhood is the song, Running Over. (It has hand motions, too!)
Running over, running over
My cup is full and running over
Since the Lord saved me
I’m as happy as can be
My cup is full and running over
The last part of the 5th verse tells us that the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with His love. In the New Living Translation, the final line of the 5th verse of the 23rd Psalm reads, “My cup overflows with blessings.” NLT The Common English Bible translates it as “…my cup is so full it spills over!” CEB
In real life overfilling a cup is disastrous! It often leads to a mess to clean up. No one purposely fills a cup to overflowing! But the Holy Spirit is not just anyone!
God’s love is immeasurable! It is infinite! God giving us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with love makes me think of attempting to pour the vastness of an ocean into a teacup!
So often we feel overrun and defeated. And though we know better, at least from a spiritual perspective, we lose hope.
Verses 3-4 tell us that we can rejoice because problems and trials…help us develop endurance, which develops strength of character, which strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
A note in the Amplified Bible states, “…the New Testament…word “hope” expresses a cherished desire along with the confident assurance of obtaining that which is longed for.”
The Biblical concept of hope is not wishing thinking, it is assurance – it is confidence in that hope!
Lord Jesus, we implore You to enable us to see the struggles of life as a means to lead us, not to disappointment, but to an unshakeable assurance of Your love for us. May we all experience the Holy Spirit’s filling of our hearts with Your love! Amen!
Nov 15th, 2022, Tues, 7:10 pm
