“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NASB

In the abundance of kindness in the heart of God, He pours out incredible gifts to us. These gifts, be they the charismas of the Spirit or the fruit, are given freely to all who need, and are secret weapons come to life within us, giving us strength, wisdom, freedom and yes, HOPE to face whatever our circumstances, no matter how grim. Victory always begins on the INSIDE. Where Jesus dwells.

These gifts are inexplicably intertwined; the rise of one brings in a burst of another, until the full grace of God becomes sufficient for us. One such time for me was 41 years ago, on a mountainside in Nepal. I had fallen and badly broken the bones in my ankle. We were days from a road, with no method of communication to the outside world. No cell phones or electricity. No doctors, no medicine. No idea of how many days walk to a drivable road.

Such a dark and mournful place to be, to feel abject hopelessness. And in that place of pain and anguish, my soul felt as if it was drowning with it. I wept, and as I wept, I cried out to Jesus. My Jesus. My Savior. My Deliverer. My Best and most Loyal Friend. I cried in utter sorrow.

Then, in the midst of my weeping, I suddenly felt an in flooding of actual JOY filling my heart. Joy and laughter, delighted laughter swept over me as I lay in that damp mud. And the harder I laughed the more the sorrow, fear and sadness spilled away. And in their place was: HOPE!

Hope! Fear runs from it. Despondence disappears. Super contagious, as I noticed all my teammates were laughing and holding their bellies. And with that flood of hope came the knowledge that all was NOT lost and that somehow, some way, God will get us through this trial.

My circumstances had not changed one bit. But I had changed, completely changed by the outpouring of hope into my fiery trial.

One cold and lonely night long ago, the sky was lit up by angels singing, Peace on Earth! Good will to all men! Hope in human form was born that night, to bring us peace with God. This unspeakable gift is available to all who trust Him. Only He can change our darkness into light, our sorrow into joy.

Jesus is God’s gift Who never stops giving. In Him we can have hope.

~ Debbie Ecker