God, the source of joy and peace

Romans 15:13 marks the close of the theological part of the letter. From here on, Paul writes of his role in taking the message to the Gentiles, lays out his plans to visit Rome, and sends greetings to an remarkably long list of personal friends (15:14-16:27). Appropriately, he closes the current section with a doxology. He writes, “May God, the source of all hope, fill you with joy and peace as you continue to place your trust in him, thus enabling the Holy Spirit to make your hope even greater.”
         The major point of this doxology is Christian hope. Contrary to the way the word hope is understood in common parlance with all its uncertainty, Christian hope is confidence in that which God guarantees will come to pass. It is less how we feel about something future and more about that which God has said will certainly happen. Hope is not something we produce, but something God provides. He is the “God of hope.” One of the beautiful things about the Christian faith is that it is future-oriented. For the believer, the past is over, dead and buried, and we have been born anew into an endless future that stretches out before us. We live in hope, that is, all that is meaningful lies ahead and we anticipate with great joy what we know will happen. God has filled us with that very hope and God delivers on every one of his promises.
         Along with joy comes peace. Have you ever thought how differently we tend to think of these two? Our mind pictures joy as exuberant, but peace as tranquil. Joy is that moment of extreme delight and peace is the quiet pleasure that follows. From the Christian perspective however, they join hands in one great experience that reflects the unimaginable bliss of all that lies ahead. It is Paul’s desire that God fill his readers with the exhilaration of joy and the quiet contentment of peace – and both at the same time.  
         In my commentary on Romans I wrote, “While it is God who provides the joy and peace, it is our continuing confidence and trust in God that enables him to bless us as he does” (p. 262). We have a definite role in realizing all that is laid out by Paul in his doxology. Our reward is not automatic but calls for our participation. It is “as we place our trust in him” that the doxology happens. We are blessed with what are perhaps the two most rewarding benefits known to man – joy and peace. God makes it all happen, but we allow him to bless us. It is “as you trust in him” that the doxology is realized. Once again we have the biblical sequence of God providing as we allow him to act. In salvation he has provided, but we must accept. In a life of increasing joy and peace, he has made it possible, but the transaction is completed “because you trust in him” (NLT).