Abound in Hope

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

The expression abound in hope refers to an overflowing measure of hope that is far beyond all human capacity to produce or describe. The original Greek verb translated “abound” means “to run over, be wealthy, have more than enough, transcending all boundaries.”

Hope is defined as “the expectation that some desire will be fulfilled.” In Scripture, hope always focuses forward with confident expectation or firm belief in the fulfillment of God’s promises. It is not to be confused with wishful thinking. Our hope is a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” of an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

Keeping our eyes trained forward and trusting in the Lord for a glorious future requires patient hope, which God supplies by the Holy Spirit from the moment of our salvation. We can abound in hope by living with excited anticipation of all God has promised us in His Word