One of the most important things in your walk with Christ is a strong faith. With a strong faith you can stand unshaken through any storm of life. You can make it through things that you would not be able to do on your own. You can KNOW that God has got you and rest in the peace that only He gives you. Faith by definition means, a strong believe in someone or something....or belief in the existence of God. But if you have faith in God, then you know faith is more than just a strong belief. It sustains you when nothing else can. It is THE thing that lets you be able to rest in the midst of a bad situation. It is KNOWING that you can trust God for everything, not just some things.
Hope....Hope is also important in your walk with Jesus because hope is exactly what Jesus came to offer us. Hope for things to come. Hope in a future with Christ. Hope for something we cannot see in this world. But also, hope in our future because we are walking with Christ. The definition of hope is, a feeling of expectation and for certain things to come...or a feeling of trust. For example, if I trust you, then I could fall backwards into your arms and hope that you will catch me. Now in that same example I also have to have faith that you actually can catch me. So you see, there is a difference between faith and hope, but they must work hand in hand together. Faith says I BELIEVE you are capable of catching me....and hope says that I TRUST you will catch me.
I think so many times faith and hope are used like they are the same thing, but they are not. However, I do believe you need one to have the other. I cannot say I have a strong faith but I feel hopeless. And I cannot say I have hope in my future, but I don't have faith that God can make it better. We must place all of our faith and all of our hope in Jesus. It really is not an either or thing. Romans 12:12 says "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer" and Romans 10:17 says "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of Christ". I love these 2 verses because to me they deliver 2 amazing messages. One, that hope is something to rejoice in. Meaning that no matter what things look like around you, with God they will only get better from here. So when tribulation comes (and it will because we live in a corrupt world) we are to be patient and pray. How can we do that, because we have hope! And then the verse about faith is saying that if you want to increase your faith, then you have to position yourself to hear from Christ. You cannot be distant from Jesus and expect to have a strong faith. It specifically mentions hearing from the Word of Christ. Faith comes by listening for and hearing from Christ. You can say you read the Word, and you may have a lot of head knowledge from the bible, but if you are not hearing from Jesus then how is your faith being increased? Jesus has to have room in your life to show you He is real. And the only way to allow that is to rely on Him. Faith is increased when we live by it. Having complete trust that no matter how big the mountain looks in front of you, in His name it can be gone! Not by your own works, not by a ton of effort on your part....but by your faith (or belief) in the power of Jesus Christ at work in your life.
Our faith offers us hope. That is a hope for something better than this world has to offer. An that is a hope that everyone should have. Demonstrate your faith to those around you and let them see the hope that is alive inside of you. Yes, hope for a better future in Christ here on earth, but really hope for something far better than this world has to offer. Today I pray that your faith keeps hope alive inside of you!
God, I thank You for the hope we have in You. And I thank You for a faith that we have because of Jesus Christ. You are the creator of faith and hope...and IN You we are offered both! Please God help us see that. Help the faithless find faith in You and help the hopeless find hope in You. Let us realize that as Christ followers both of those things have to be alive in us so the world around us can see what you have to offer them. Let NOTHING steal either of these things from us. And right now in the name of Jesus I rebuke the attacks of faith, hope and love on Your people! You sent Jesus to die to offer all of this and more to us...so Holy Spirit help us walk in that today! In Jesus name, Amen
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