In any trip or any endeavor you reach a point where you are almost finished. It's like you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is how faith and hope affect us. Whether we are just living life or perhaps we are going through trials and struggles we can look to the Lord and find the strength and courage to continue and to finish what we started.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I want to focus on the two words substance and evidence for a minute.
There are two kinds of hope. I hope it rains today is one kind of hope. I hope to get married this year is another kind of hope. I hope to be with Jesus in Heaven is another kind of hope. One kind of hope I call a mental assent of a natural process. The other kind of hope is a supernatural hope that by faith links us to God.
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." 1Corinthians 15:19
The substance of faith is being sure that God will do what He promised for us. It is confidence and trust based on God's power not on our wisdom. Faith is the confidence, an attitude that confidently looks forward to all that is good and beneficial from God. Faith hopes in God.
Faith is also the evidence of things not seen. The word evidence is a word that implies something that has been tested and proven true. Faith must be put to the test by actions and words that we do and say. Whether it is for salvation or for healing or for financial provision faith acts, even when there is no outward or visible evidence. Faith is not a feeling or an emotion. Faith is an action. And in proving the faithfulness of God and the Bible we prove the certainty of what we believe.
Faith works because God is faithful. Hebrews chapter 11 is a catalog of people in ancient days who proved that God could keep His promises. This is the God factor that energizes the Christian life. Doctrine is the basis for what we believe. Faith puts what we believe into action. Faith takes hope out of the natural realm into the supernatural realm. God is glorified for what He does in response to our actions. Faith is the confidence that God can be trusted.
"Bring all of the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10
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