In a world full of disillusionment, men and women often lift their heads each morning and ask, what’s the point of life? Even in places like Italy—full of beauty and wonder—the haunting specter of despair fills one’s horizon. It is a profound irony: for all of its charm and elegance, the deadening grip of secularism has deprived a great portion of the Italian population of the peace and assurance that is in Jesus Christ.
Thankfully, God offers hope. The salvation that Jesus purchased upon the cross before rising victoriously from the grave is strong enough to deliver us from despair. How does it work? The Apostle Paul writes, "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that it produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:3-5; emphasis added).
The blessed progression of the Holy Spirit—the divine gift that we enjoy in Christ—provides hope. We can’t pull this gift out of a religious hat or somehow conjure it up by the strength of our wills. But we can receive it by faith. As you watch the above video, which highlights the movement of gospel renewal currently advancing through the Italian peninsula, please pray for the Holy Spirit to engage Italian souls.
