“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Many years ago, I came across this verse at a time when hope was hard. It was one of those challenging seasons, kind of like the one we have all lived through over the last year and this verse spoke to my heart. I needed hope, peace, and joy, all of which seemed in short supply at the time.
So, for several weeks, I kept going back to this verse, praying, meditating over it, memorizing it. It was like an anchor, a touchstone. Each time I read it I was reminded that God is a God of hope. I was reminded that God has the power, through the Holy Spirit at work in me, to inspire hope, peace, and joy in me. I didn’t need to wait for the world to give these gifts to me. I didn’t need to wait for my circumstances in life to change to experience these gifts. I needed to look to God for these gifts. And ever so slowly, as I prayed over these words, the light of hope began to burn brighter in my spirit. Peace began to take root. Joy began to grow. My circumstances hadn’t changed. But my heart began to lighten amid those circumstances, and I knew they wouldn’t last forever. The God of hope was inspiring hope, joy, and peace in me and that was enough.
Last Christmas, someone gave me a plaque with part of this verse on it. She had no idea what this verse meant to me. Last week I moved it from my bedroom where it was hanging to my kitchen where I would see it before I left the house each day because I want to be a person who abounds in hope, joy, and peace. I want to call on the God of hope every day to make these gifts a reality in my life, no matter the circumstances.
There have been so many hard things that we have all experienced over the last year. But what has carried me and all of us through, is the fact that we worship a God of hope – a God of resurrection and life who can and does do in us and through us, immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. That doesn’t mean things aren’t hard. It doesn’t mean we don’t know pain, hurt, disappointment. It means that God, in Christ Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit, has the power to inspire hope in us right alongside all the other very real challenges that we face. God has the power to bring us joy and peace. God has the power to breathe those gifts into us even in the challenges that we face every day.
When we started the Finish Strong campaign, the most asked question was, “Is this the right time for such a campaign?” I understood that question. We were certainly embarking on a big challenge in the middle of unusual circumstances. But the leaders of Suntree UMC, along with the staff had prayed for months about this and while there is rarely such a thing as “perfect” clarity, in the end, we believed we needed to move forward with this, for the long-term health and future of our mission and ministry. We felt that we couldn’t afford to wait any longer. We did wonder at times whether it was the right decision. I realize that some may still wonder about that. That is ok.
But what I’ve experienced through this whole effort is the power of the God of hope to fill me with hope, joy, and peace. I’ve been inspired with incredible hope about the future of Christ’s work in this place. I’ve had so many conversations with folks who have been blessed, transformed, encouraged, empowered by the presence of Christ’s love and grace at work at Suntree. I’ve been so inspired by their stories. I’ve learned lately of people who are coming to our new member orientation in May that had never even been on our campus before. They found us through our online worship and have been so blessed, they are ready to explore becoming a partner with us in ministry. Others who joined a couple of months ago were led to make that commitment because they were so inspired by our outreach ministries even during a pandemic.
I’ve been inspired by the incredible, faith-filled generosity of so many who have already made commitments to the campaign. We have currently received commitments of over $750,000 for the next 3 years towards our goal of $1,000,000 or more. Folks have made those commitments because of the ways that God has blessed them through the ministry of Christ in this place and they want to ensure that ministry is vital and healthy and can continue to bless others for years to come.
Hope, peace, joy. I would never have imagined that a debt reduction campaign could produce those gifts in me and the life of God’s church. I know now, I should have had more faith. Nothing is impossible for the God of hope that we worship.
This Sunday we will take the next step in the Finish Strong Campaign by dedicating our commitments to God and the work of Christ through Suntree UMC. You should have received a card in the mail. If you are attending worship in person, bring your card and place it in the commitment basket during worship at the appointed time. Then after worship, go by our celebration tent to receive a treat and a special thank you gift.
If you are worshipping online with us, you may either fill out a card online through our website, mail your card to the church office or, the more fun option, join us at our drive-thru celebration of ministry. You can drop off your commitment card anytime between 10am and 1:30pm and receive a treat and your special thank you.
We hope you will fill out and return a commitment card even if you are not able to make a financial commitment at this time. We know not everyone can do more than they are already doing, and we are grateful for what you currently give to the ministry of this church. Just put $0 under total commitment and write “praying” across the card. That way we will know you are committed to praying over our mission and ministry and we won’t send you any reminders about the card in the coming weeks.
As we close out this time, we will be focusing on the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus found in Luke 19:1-10. It is a story of the power of grace to save us and transform our attitudes and our actions. We are reminded that salvation is not just a change of heart, but results in changed behavior. Zacchaeus’ first response to the welcome and acceptance of Jesus was to give out of joy and gratitude. May the same be true of us as we experience the love and grace of Christ in our lives.
With hope, joy, and peace,
Pastor Annette
