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Devotional for April 2, 2020

An Alternative

 "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." (Romans 15:13 NIV)

 We are often encouraged to go by our instinct, or our gut reaction. The problem is, in situations like these, our gut reaction is often determined by what we know. And what we know is what we see and experience. And what we see and experience is told to us by the daily reports we hear, of new cases of the coronavirus exponentially increasing, of various famous figures passing away from the coronavirus, and of the difficult economic impact resulting from the quarantine. We also experience the pressure of worrying about our families, our jobs, and especially our children, as more and more schools announce the possibility of remaining closed to the end of the school year. We wonder if things are ever going to improve, simply because all we know is what is happening right at this moment.

 And yet, there is an alternative. There is an alternative to going simply with our gut reaction: with God, there is always an alternative. This is because with God, there is always hope. Hope is looking forward to what we do not yet see, but what we believe is going to happen, because God is going to cause it to happen. We believe that there will be an end to this crisis, and so we look forward to it with hope. We believe that God will restore what has been lost as a result of this crisis, and so we look forward to it with hope. This can give us joy and peace, because we know that the solution to everything that is going on is not in our hands, but in God's. Joy can always be the alternative to sorrow, peace the alternative to anxiety, and hope the alternative to pessimism. 

 We also know, because God promises it, that the Holy Spirit is always with us. Jesus left us the Holy Spirit when He ascended into Heaven. The Holy Spirit carries on Jesus' work - to comfort us with the fact that, because Jesus died and rose again for us, we have access to God's help and power at all times, especially in times of crisis. The Holy Spirit is the power that fills us with joy, peace, and hope as antidotes to the sorrow, anxiety, and fear that surrounds us and tries to influence us. All of this is possible because of God - God who alone can give us hope in the midst of crisis.

 Dear God, fill me with joy and peace, by the power of your Holy Spirit, and help me to have hope always, because you are always with me and in control. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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