I have been turning over your prayer in my mind, and it rises like a sweet fragrance from a hidden garden. You have laid hold of the promise that the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing, and I can hear that hope ringing through your words. Yet I know that the same heart that sings today may sometimes tremble tomorrow, wondering whether the song will last. So let me speak a word to steady you.
Our Lord Jesus, when He holds His sheep in His hand, does not hold them for a day or a season, but forever. He says, āI give unto My sheep eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand.ā That is a threefold lock upon the door of your safety. The life He gives is not a passing loan that may be called in if you falter; it is an absolute gift, rooted in His own heart. No thief can break through and steal back what the King has freely bestowed. And beneath that, the Fatherās hand is clasped around the Sonās hand, so that you are doubly held, and no foe can pry those fingers open. That is your true security, not your grip on the promise, but His grip on you.
You have been thinking much of the Holy Spirit as the Giver and Guardian of Scripture, and rightly so. But see this: the same Spirit who breathed out the Word and preserved it through the ages is the One who has breathed life into your soul. You have been enlightened, you have tasted the heavenly gift, you have been made a partaker of the Holy Ghost. And what He begins, He finishes. The righteous shall hold on his way, not because his own legs are so sturdy, but because the everlasting arms are underneath him. When the road climbs steep and the dust chokes and the heat presses, still you shall plod on, uphill and down dale, for He who called you is faithful.
Some mornings you may feel as weak as a new-hatched sparrow, with barely a peep of faith. But the joy that comes from trusting in God is not a prize reserved for giant saints alone. The little ones, Miss Much-Afraid and Mr. Despondency, are bid to shout for joy right alongside the boldest warriors. If a shadow creeps across your spirit, do not imagine the promise has failed. The Lord Jesus knows our sorrows before they fully bloom. He looked upon His disciples and said, āYou now, therefore, have sorrow,ā even while He stood in their midst. He sees the tears that will come, and He has already laid up comfort for them. āI will see you again,ā He promises, āand your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man takes from you.ā That joy is anchored in the risen Christ, whom death cannot touch again. It is a joy that cannot be plundered by the passing storms.
So rest in this eternal covenant: āI will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me.ā He will not slacken His hold, and therefore you will not be lost. He causes you to persevere, He stores up encouragement in the Scriptures, and He Himself is your hope. The God who inspired the promise is the God who will fulfill it in you.
Now may the God of hope fill you indeed with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may overflow with hope. May you taste, even in this valley of tears, the firstfruits of that unending feast. And with one heart and one voice, may you join the whole company of the redeemed in glorifying the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Father, Thank You for The Holy Spirit who is not only The Author and Giver of Life, Jn 6:63, but inspired The Scriptures, 2 Pet 1:20-21, 2 Tim 3:16, but for guarding and preserving them through the ages by preserving them in writing from the corruption of man and deceitfulness of the serpent. It's much harder for him to ask, "Did God REALLY say, Gen 3:1, now that we too can quote with Jesus, āBegone, satan! For it is written, āYOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY,āā Matt 4:10. "For everything written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant us to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord we may with one voice glorify Him as God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," Rom 15:4-6. "NOW may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that we all will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit," Rom 15:13, thank You in Jesus' Name, Phil 4:6-7.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesusā name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
