Are You Crammed Full Of It?

In Romans 15:13, from the New American Standard Bible, it says, "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." I am thankful that HE is The God Of Hope. The word here for hope also means "expectation." HE is to be my hope and expectation.

See, part of where we end up getting disappointed and discouraged is that we often place our hope in something or someone other than HIM. Our hope is in our prayer, our study of the Word, our going to church regularly, etc.. You know, all the things that we do. But God wants our hope and expectation to be HIM, not our attempts at serving HIM and doing all the right things!

I want to look at something else from this scripture. Paul's prayer was that the God of hope would fill you and I with joy and peace while we are believing! I like that and I am in agreement with it. Let it be Lord!!

But look at this one word, "fill". This word excites me! It means "to make replete, or (fig.) to furnish or satisfy". But literally it means "to cram (like a net)." Being crammed full!! That is so cool!!

See, it is the period of "while we are believing" that we do much of our struggling. That waiting period, between when we first ask, to the time that prayer is fulfilled, can be a short time or seemingly a long time, or anywhere in between! The longer it takes, the more we seem to struggle with faith. But God doesn't want us to struggle. Paul recognized this and prayed this prayer for all of us because he knew that it was easier to continue in this walk if we are crammed full of joy and peace and all the other things of God's Spirit.

I love the idea of being crammed full of joy and peace while I am believing God. It gives me the understanding that God wants me to be successful in this walk, and HE wants me to enjoy it while I am doing it! I need the joy of the Lord and I need the peace of God.

Crammed full of HIS joy, crammed full of HIS peace, crammed full of HIS love, crammed full of HIS strength, crammed full of HIS Spirit, crammed full of HIS faith, crammed full of HIS gentleness, crammed full of HIS faithfulness, and every other attribute of God that HE wants in our life. He doesn't just want us full, but "crammed full."

So, are you crammed full of it?