SCRIPTURE:
Romans 15:13 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.

DEVOTIONAL:
In case you missed it, this has been our theme verse for the series “Hope Has Come.” I’d like to point out the circle in this verse. Paul is praying that God, who is Hope, would fill Christ-followers with joy and peace because they believe in Him, SO THAT, by the Holy Spirit’s power (not their own), they would then overflow with hope. We have hope because we have God. When we are filled completely with the things of God, there isn’t room for anything that is not of Him. I like to call this holy displacement. For example, when you are filled with the hope of God, it displaces despair. When you are filled with the peace of God, it displaces anxiety. As we begin this fast, ask God to displace the things in your life that are not of Him, and replace them with the works of His Holy Spirit. Allow this fast to make room in your life for the work of God.

PRAYER:
Oh, God! Thank You for being all that I need. At the very start of this fast, I welcome You into my life to do the work that only You can do. Thank You for filling me with joy and peace, because I can’t create those on my own. Thank You, that when I believe in You, You send Your Holy Spirit to dwell within me and to work in my life. Thank You for being Hope and for filling my heart with hope. Let me see a new confident hope overflowing in my life as I obey Your word during this fast.

BIBLE READING: