Romans 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
I did not want to get up this morning. I had plenty of sleep, but I just didn’t want to get up. I felt like I needed more sleep. Usually about noontime I feel like I need to eat. About one o’clock I feel like I need to sleep again. Throughout the day I feel like I need wisdom. I am just a needy person, and throughout the day I am keenly aware of the needs that I have and the lack that I exhibit.
Sometimes we think that what we need is A, B, or C. So, we go to a conference, buy a vitamin, or go on a regimen. None of those things are intrinsically wrong, but God has what you need because God is what you need. In other words, what we need is a person not a thing. Sometimes we think that we need comfort, hope, peace, or patience when what we really need is a God Who is all those things.
Three times in Romans 15, the Bible names God in regard to Who He is. For instance, in verse 5 it says, “For the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.” The Bible calls God “the God of patience.” Do you know of anyone who is going to try your patience today? Well, if they try your patience, they will find that you have none because none of us naturally have the kind of patience we ought to have. We are naturally selfish and impatient.
The Bible says, “The God of patience and consolation grant you…” That is, He is able to provide for you. He is able to give you the ability to be likeminded, to be just as Christ Jesus was. Verse 3 says, “For even Christ pleased not himself.” The way to be likeminded is to be like Christ. The Bible says that God grants or gives that.
Verse 13 says, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Once again, the Bible begins the challenge by saying, “Now.” It is available right now to you. It is very personal. Joy and peace are available now because of the hope we have beyond right now, the joy and peace in believing. That helps us to abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. It is not through my power, natural inclinations, or the news I saw this morning. It is through the power of God, the Holy Spirit.
You can always endure what you are going through right now when you have something better to which you can look forward, and as believers we always have that. It is not a “maybe” hope, but a steadfast, sure hope. So, He is the God of hope Who gives us joy.
Finally, verse 33 says, “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” So, grant, fill, and be. Where does peace come from? Peace doesn’t come from the absence of problems; it comes with the presence of God. “The God of peace be with you.” That is peace. Jesus says in John 14, “My peace I give unto you.”
Whatever it is that you need today including patience, comfort, hope, or peace, God is the One Who gives, fills, and is everything you need.