2020 has exhausted every church leader I know. Every. Leader.

Be encouraged. The end of 2020 is near, or is it?

Even with a vaccine on the horizon, it’s not over yet. 2020 will extend into 2021, way into the year.

Church leaders may resign due to sheer exhaustion. Long-time members are quitting unexpectedly, and the church is dividing on anything that sounds remotely plausible. 

We survived church culture wars in the past. But 2020 has been ruthless. We have had riots, political division, bombing, police shut-downs, and no NHL for many months. Okay, maybe that’s wasn't so bad. But this current church war includes a virus that won’t go away. It has been a flurry of gut punches for many church leaders.

So, at the end of Pandember 2020, why don’t we rest on Romans 15:13:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 

1. God is the source of hope because he is hope. A vaccine, political leaders, and stimulus checks are not our hope. The God of hope is what we desperately need.
2. God fills us with joy and peace. He doesn’t use an eye-dropper. He overflows us.
3. God fills us with all joy and peace. Read what it says. He fills us with all so that we abound. The God of hope is not stingy.
4. He gives us joy and peace as we believe in him. You may not have felt joy and peace in 2020, but you can believe he provides it. 
5. Your gas tank may be empty, and that’s when the Holy Spirit can step in and fill you so that you abound in hope. 
6. He alone is your hope. If you can’t find your joy, the Spirit will step in and help you to abound in hope. Let the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace.

I can't wait for 2020 to end, but I need this verse for closure so that I can start with a hopeful heart in 2021.