I have often found myself standing behind someone at the gas station, busily spending a small fortune on lottery tickets. I just want to pay for my gas and get my meager discount! These dear people, month after month, are hoping one ticket will be the jackpot. They leave with their hands full of lottery tickets and hearts flooded with hope that luck may smile on them. My thought as they pass me is, that is a shaky hope if I have ever seen one.

I have my own version of putting my hopes in the wrong places. I read the news and I think, “Maybe now the Strait of Hormuz will be open, and gas will cost less, and then prices will come down.”

How many times in a day do we have those, “if only” thoughts. If only this one thing would happen, then.... as if that one thing would solve the day.

As I sat to write today, I felt that God was asking me to simply remind you, my dear readers, to guard your hearts and where you put your hope. There is lots of slipping sand in this world. Our one sure place to receive hope is from God. I love the beautiful reminder we have in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

When is the last time that you overflowed with hope; there was so much hope that it spilled out onto everyone around you? That only comes when God has filled us with joy and peace and is a function of deep trust in Him. Overflowing with hope comes only by the power of the Holy Spirit. You don’t need a perfect life to overflow with hope. It comes to anyone who trusts God in the midst of whatever troubling circumstances they find themselves in. It flows out of simple faith and is a gracious gift of God. It is for you.

Today, if you need the hope that comes from God Himself, ask Him. He promises to give it to us, even if our circumstances don’t change. The beauty of God’s peace is its presence in the storms we find ourselves in.

Dear Father,

Thank You for the peace that You offer each one of us as Your children. I ask for Your peace to fill my heart today. I know that there are many places people go for peace, but I choose to come to You Father. I need Your peace to fill me today.

In Jesus Name,

Amen