In this episode, host Lisa Lorenzo talks about the importance of setting aside time to spend with God and to seek Him. She discusses Romans 15:13, which reads May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. The conversation focuses on how trusting in God can fill us with joy, peace, and hope. Lisa encourages listeners to take time to immerse themselves in God's word and to seek Him in order to experience the joy and peace of His presence in their lives.

The speaker is discussing the beautiful prayer that was said for us, and how it is from the God of hope, and not hope that we should stir up within ourselves. Instead, it is a hope that belongs to God and is given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. They explain that joy is not a feeling or happiness, but a result of an abiding relationship with Christ Jesus, and can be found in Psalm 40:4. Other verses about joy are Psalm 50:12, which asks God to restore the joy of salvation, and Psalm 16:11 which says that in His presence is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore.

The speaker talks about the relationship between joy, peace, and hope in Christianity. They explain that joy is found through a relationship with God, with Psalm 119: 111 and Proverbs 10:28 as examples. Peace is given to us by the Prince of Peace, Jesus, and is signified by tranquility and harmony. In order to experience the overflowing joy and peace promised in these verses, one must place their trust in God and surrender their worries and fears. One therapeutic tool to do this is prayer journaling, which involves spending time each day talking to God about your concerns, fears, and dreams.

In this conversation, the speaker talks about how to cultivate a relationship with God and how to use Scripture to find peace, joy, and hope. They discuss how to use prayer, specifically focusing on allowing God's peace to wash over you, as well as meditating on Scripture. The speaker uses Romans 15:13 to illustrate this point, and gives an amplified translation of the verse, as well as a message translation to show the imagery of God being the source of green hope, growth, abundance, and renewal. Ultimately, the speaker emphasizes that when we cultivate a relationship with God and commit to His word, our joy, peace and hope will overflow and have an impact on those around us.

Timestamps

0:00:00

Episode #14: Journey to Joy - Exploring Romans 14:13 with Lisa Lorenzo

0:00:53

Conversation on the Power of Joy and Hope in the Lord

0:02:53

"Exploring Joy, Peace, and Hope Through Prayer Journaling"

0:06:30

Topic: Cultivating a Relationship with God Through Prayer and Meditating on Scripture

0:08:20

"Exploring the God of Hope: A Faith with Friends Podcast"

Highlights

So we're taking personal ownership of that God. May the God of your hope so fill you with joy and peace in believing through your experience of faith that the power of the Holy Spirit may abound in you and be overflowing or bubbling over with hope. Imagine being filled to the brim with joy, peace and hope, and then overflowing. What happens then? Then the people around you get a little taste of your joy, peace and hope.. And that shows us the impact we're going to have on other people when we truly cultivate that kind of relationship with God and that kind of commitment to God's word. The message translation says it like this oh, may the God of green hope. Yes. I said Green Hope. May the God of green hope fill you with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives filled with the life giving energy of the Holy Spirit will overflow with hope. I absolutely love the imagery in this translation because it shows us that God is the God of green hope, which symbolizes growth and abundance and renewal. And I don't know about you, but I want all of those things. And God wants us to overflow with these things, to overflow with joy, peace and hope, igniting our lives with the life giving energy of the Holy Spirit.

And in one, thessalonians 523, it says, may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless to the coming of to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of my favorites, Colossians 315, let the peace of Christ rule in your heart sense as members of one body, you are called to peace. Christ is peace. He is the prince of peace. He grants us peace, and we are called to peace.

Spending time with God in his word brings joy, and praying to God brings joy. And I'm going to say, even when you don't get what you want, you still can have joy. Because joy is produced by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 522 and 25 say, but the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy. The second one is joy. So there's a little proof that joy comes from trusting God. Okay? So now let's look at that word peace.

Spending time with God is what creates joy in our lives. And if you need more convincing, Psalm 119, verse 111, your statues are my heritage forever. They are the joy in my heart. Proverbs 1028 reminds us, the hope of the righteous bring joy. And of course, do I have joy when God answers my prayers? Yes. John 16, verse 24 tells us that until now you've asked nothing in my name. But ask and you will receive, and that your joy may be full.

What a beautiful prayer. A beautiful prayer to be prayed over us, and a beautiful prayer for us to pray for the people that we love in our lives. And I love that it is the God of hope. It's not hope that we should stir up in our hearts. It's a hope that belongs to God. And then by the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive that hope. And hope refers to confident expectations of what God has promised.