Recently I went through a drought in my relationship with God, so I began to focus more on reading the Word and praying every day. Soon after, I had a very vivid dream about a friend and felt led to witness to her. Turns out, my words were exactly what she needed to hear.
Romans 15:13 gives us a beautiful promise. Our God is a God of hope, and he desires to fill us with all joy and all peace — so much so that we overflow that hope onto others. It’s a beautiful verse and a beautiful truth. There’s one aspect, however, where people sometimes get tripped up. Exactly how do we overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit?
To be in tune with the Holy Spirit, we have to remain in touch with him. Relationships are not one-sided. There is a direct correlation between the amount of time I spend with the Lord and the amount he works through and in me. After witnessing to my friend, I fell into another bad pattern of not prioritizing the Lord. When I again committed to spending time with him a few weeks later, that same friend almost immediately reached out to me.
The way to be filled with the Holy Spirit is simple, and Romans 15:13 provides the recipe. We trust in him. We seek him. We make an effort to draw near to him. And when we do that, he will draw near to us.
Lord, thank you for giving us hope and giving us the Holy Spirit. Help me make an effort to stay close to you so I can be filled with your power. Amen.
Go Deeper — Today, commit to spending ten more minutes with God in prayer and reading his Word. Then be open to how he responds in your life. Why not do that each day this week?
Read Further — If you are not sure where to begin when it comes to reading the Bible, there are some encouraging ideas in the article God Is Speaking to You.
*Editor's note: We want to thank Hailey for her years of writing devotionals for us. She leaves in order to put her talents and energy into her own business. We pray for her continued success.
Photo Credit: Yoal Desurmont