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Romans 15:13 – 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. (NIV)
Blowing soap bubbles and having them rise in iridescent splendour brings delight to young and old alike as we hope for the next bubble. Rainbow colours enchant the soul. "Happy" is the nearest word to describe how watching bubbles form and float away makes people feel. But bubbles and being happy are based on a moment in time. They are limited. The same child, who was smiley-faced and exuberant when bubbles floated from the wand, cried when the last bubble burst.
Hope in the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, is long-lasting and permanent as we live our lives with confidence in God. The hope brings joy and peace. Neither joy nor hope has to leave us when we have built them on the solid rock foundation of God's truth. With soap bubbles, the resource is confined to a container. Joy and hope in Christ are unlimited because He is God. Through Him, the Holy Spirit can bubble joy, peace, and hope through our souls and our daily lives because God's truth never changes, so circumstances or people can never limit those qualities in Him.
Faith in God through Jesus Christ, powered by the Holy Spirit, keeps our joy bells ringing. Our being is filled with comfort and peace through any stormy weather that may threaten us. When we sorrow, grieve, or mourn, our pain is easier because of the hope that we have in Christ. Which countenance do you choose? We can bubble over with hope in the Holy Spirit all the time.
Prayer: We thank You, O Lord, that we suffer more easily because we have Your presence in our lives. How wonderful it is that we don't rely on soap bubbles to make us happy, but hope bubbles instead. Amen.
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Thank you.
Thanks, Karen for this hope of joy.
Thanks for the encouragement, Karen.
I like the ‘Soap bubbles/Hope bubbles’ connection you made here, Karen. Blessings on your writing and work today.
Joy and hope in Christ are unlimited because He is God. Through Him, the Holy Spirit can bubble joy, peace, and hope through our souls and our daily lives because God’s truth never changes, so circumstances or people can never limit those qualities in Him.
Thank you especially for these words.
Keep writing.
What a delight to read this! I just had an email from a friend whose sign off is JOY. After I read it, I mused as to what my word would be and decided PEACE!
I know it’s overused at the moment; we need the kind only God can give when we live in a relationship of trust with him.
Bless you for sharing rainbow bubbles at the start of my day!
When you mention Joy it always reminds me of my young kids going to VBS. We have a relative named Joey. The kids went to a VBS. We picked them up this day and right away my 5 year old son said we sang “Joey Joey Joey down in my heart” but we never said a word about it. Of course, it was the well-known song “Joy Joy Joy down in my heart to stay”.
(ON)
Dear Karen,
Thank you for this beautiful analogy of the limitless joy we receive from faith in God compared to joy from another source. Our Lord is always on duty to provide us with comfort and peace through our life situations and give us a positive outcome to our “hope” feelings.
Blessings for writing.
(B.C.)