Faith is being sure of what you HOPE for, and certain of what you do not see. Hebrews 11:1
Hope Wins when hope puts on the glove of faith and reaches for what is unseen in the natural but vividly real in the spiritual realm.
The home-health nurse asked me to walk her to her car after checking on Bill that day. What she said astounded me!
“You and your husband have something that is seldom seen?” the nurse said as we reached her car.
“Tell me what you mean?” I asked.
“You have strong faith and it shows.. You are always laughing and enjoying each other. I look forward to coming to see you two because you give me hope,” she continued.
How do you keep going when you feel like your world is falling apart? My husband had struggled for a long time with exhaustion and weakness. Once he was able to put a name to his condition – FSHD (an adult-set form of muscular dystrophy) he was able to make the hardest decision of his life. He resigned as pastor of the church where we served a small congregation for eleven years. Ministry is not like others ‘jobs.’ It is a calling and a heart disposition. He served faithfully, loving people and caring for their needs. Our church was like family. He preached his last sermon in August of 2000. And so began what would become a very hard journey where we would need hope and the absolute certainty that God finishes what He starts. The next 12 years were filled with adventures and struggles. As I look back on the panorama of that season, I can see God’s hand in it all. The physical challenges increased every year yet the spiritual growth was proportionate. We didn’t realize it at the time just as you don’t realize that your children are growing year after year because the changes are so gradual. We faced each new day with a prayer of faith for healing and the assurance that we would enjoy that day no matter what it held.
Context
The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians. They were expecting Christ’s return at any moment. As it began to delay, some of them were tempted to return to their traditions and abandon their faith in the Messiah. The author shows the upgrades that come through Christ and the life of faith. There are many in depth explorations of the covenant God made with His people in the Old Testament and the upgrade of these privileges through the true High Priest – Jesus! This faith chapter is a classic inspirational one that we have heard quoted many times. It inspires me to explore my faith through the confident expectation of God’s provision for everything that I need. There are so many references to faith and hope in this book that I reread it often to remind myself of how much God is involved in my daily struggles.
Assurance
But Jesus the Anointed was faithful as a Son of that house. (We become that house, if we’re able to hold on to the confident HOPE we have in God until the end.) Hebrews 3:6 Voice
God is up to something in your life. He is building something that is eternal and He is faithful. Be assured and filled with confident hope that God will finish the building projects He started in you. What follows is a parade of ordinary people who believed in God and held on to their confidence that He would keep His promises. They were unlikely candidates (just like us) who knew that God was the only One who could keep building strength and purpose into the very fiber of our beings. As long as your faith continues you can continue until the end. Even when we do not actually see God, heaven, angels or our loved ones in Heaven we have faith that they do indeed await us when it is our turn to ‘move to Heaven.’
Absolute certainty
Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 Voice
Your words matter because they make a difference in the way that you weather the difficult seasons of life. The confession of your hope has more to do with the faithfulness of the One who has promised to faithfully meet every need. During difficult times, I would start talking of the times when we thought we would not make it yet we did. We saw so many miracles during this season. We had a solid persuasion and hope expectation that god would performed all He had promised us in Christ. Faith allows us to keep from wavering especially when there was no where else to turn. Even though we do not see what the future holds for us with physical eyes our reality encompasses the unseen and good results God has planned for us. Just like the patriarch of our faith that are listed in the remainder of this chapter, our faith grows until one day we get to experience the reality of what we have believed.
Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for these passages that remind me of the value of faith as we walk through our lives. I am grateful for the gift of faith in the first place because You are the author and finisher of my faith. Help those who are praying this prayer to navigate the difficult times when it seems like the circumstances of this life are drowning their faith. I love how when we look to You, our faith grows and we see the miraculous fulfillment of your promises to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, sign up to receive Karen’s emails.
