Victorious Journey with Coach Bre

As you read the title of my message today, you may wonder how joy is possible in hard seasons.  You may even ask how ‘joy’ and ‘hard seasons’ can exist in the same sentence! Hard seasons are hard!  And there’s probably nothing good about what we may be going through: nothing good about losing your only source of income, nothing good about losing a loved one.  So, how is joy possible?

Paul, in his letter to the Roman church, says this:

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

Paul is coming to the end of this letter to the Romans, a letter that has been filled with doctrinal truths about the sinfulness of man, Jesus and the forgiveness He offers and how we should live as a result of our new lives in Christ.  In all of that important information, this verse in Romans 15 really stands out in my mind.  

Paul is offering a prayer on behalf of the Roman believers, and because we too are believers, we can also receive it.  His desire is that the God of hope would fill us with joy and peace as we trust in Him.  This verse reminds us that God is the source of our joy, no matter what we may be experiencing.  The verse also says that, because of the joy and peace we receive, we will overflow with hope!  This kind of hope is not just a wish, but it’s a confident assurance of what God says we have in Him and an assurance of who we are in Him.  Again, this is regardless of our circumstances.

This message is just a quick reminder to you that joy is possible, even in hard times.  As we trust in Him, we can experience the joy, peace and hope that will carry us through our difficulties.  Things may be tough now, but we have an assurance that God is with us in the tough times and provides exactly what we need when we need it. AMEN!

If you know someone who is in the middle of a challenging season, please forward this message to them.  Also, I would love for you to share your comments below.

Be blessed!