What hope have we? What is it that lies at the very core of our being that allows us to continue on, day after day, believing in the promises of God and the future completion of our salvation? How can we be sure of our final destination and the eventual perfection of God’s work in us?
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
God’s word continually amazes me and Hebrews 11 is, to me, one of the most encouraging and amazing chapters in the Bible. It has been called the faith “Hall of Fame” as in it we are given the names and deeds of many ordinary men and women who exercised their faith in God and were richly blessed unto salvation because of it.
If you are facing strong difficulties in your life and if you doubt that things will ever get better than I encourage you to spend some time with Hebrews 11. It is such an inspirational look at what God can do in the lives of people who are willing to step out and believe in the power and promises of God. But what really caught me eye as I studied Hebrews 11 again was the strong theme of hope that is carried throughout.
Notice verse 1 above. Faith is confidence in what we hope for. Our hope flourishes and thrives because of the confidence given through our faith. And our faith is given to us as a gift from God but must be exercised and worked at by us. There’s a transaction that takes place with God as the starting point and God’s promises and blessings as the outcome. And in between lies us and our decision to believe and to act or not.
Has our hope dimmed? Is it barely visible and flickering in the darkness of our circumstances? Then I would ask how much we have invested in increasing and exercising our faith. A faith strengthened leads to a hope that is lively. The hope we know is directly proportional to the faith we build.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)
In these three verses we see a similarity between Abraham’s story and what he was called to do and the story of every person who has ever lived. Our true home lies with God in paradise. This world is like a foreign country to us and yet we are still called by faith to go and to do the work that God has given us. And our eternal souls and spirits, for a time, must live in these imperfect and quickly failing tents of flesh. But we do so with other heirs of the same promise, our brothers and sisters in the family of God. And we do it because we love the Lord and because we are looking forward to that heavenly city of perfection, the one that Jesus is preparing for us.
My hope to see that place and my savior is strong. I am well assured that what God has promised he is working on even now, unto completion. How fares your hope? What is it that you are looking forward to? And are you looking with eyes of faith or of flesh?