Faith.  Hope.  Belief.  Expectation.  What are these elements?  Where do they come from?  What are they made of?   And are they really all that important – especially in today’s generation?

The answer to that final question is: YES – these elements are vitally important – especially for today’s generation.  Nearly 400 verses in the New Testament alone make reference to either faith, hope, or both. 

Hebrews 10.38 tells us “Now the just shall LIVE BY FAITH; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”  It is not an option – we MUST live by faith, and refuse to draw back– ever. Faith and Hope are to be our Life-style.  So with this foundation laid, let us explore these vital elements.

What is FAITH and HOPE?

FAITH, by its Greek definition, is persuasion,  confidence, belief, trust, conviction of the truth of a thing, credence – which is belief in the report or testimony of another.  FAITH is belief and absolute confidence in God’s report, believing what God says.

HOPE, by Greek definition, is intense expectation and anticipation.  It is a forward look with assurance of the future and what is unseen.  HOPE is extreme confidence in something happening even though there may be no tangible evidence of it at present.  HOPE sees what is not seen and acts as if it’s already a reality.

Hope is absolutely vital to the effectiveness of our faith.  Without hope, faith has no picture, no vision to give substance and tangibility to.  Conversely, hope is ineffective without faith – because faith is the power (energy) that brings our hope “pictures” into reality.

The word for substance in Hebrews 11.1 is a Greek word meaning a setting under – it is the support, concrete essence,  foundation of a thing, the quality of confidence which leads one to stand under, endure, or undertake anything.  FAITH, believing what God has said, is the foundation and support under our expectation, our hope.  Faith is the evidence, or proof, of what is unseen.

Where does faith and hope come from?

Romans 10.17 says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The Word is the only means by which faith can be obtained, because Jesus is the author, or originator, of our faith – and He Himself is the Word [John 1.1]  It is through the Word entering in and being established in our heart that our faith becomes strong and mature.  The Word is the building material for our faith, and our faith is the building material for “things hoped for”.  The Word is what faith is made of, so in order to grow faith, we must plant the word in our heart.

HOPE, on the other hand, also comes from the Word, but from a little different angle.  While faith is a builder, a fulfiller – hope is the picture, the scale-model so to speak, of what faith is to build. 

Whenever you are taking the Word into your heart (studying it, speaking it, listening to it), your faith is being fed and receiving strength and nourishment to grow.  Remember that Faith is persuasion or belief in the report/ testimony of another. The more you immerse yourself in what God has said, the more you will be persuaded by and have belief in His Words, versus all the other voices around you.

At the same time that your faith is growing through feeding on the Word, your hope is being defined and taking shape.  As the Word goes into your heart, pictures begin to come together, element by element – much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle – only these pieces are not made of wood or paper, but out of God’s very Words – Words infused with self-fulfilling power.

Romans 15.13 says that the God of hope fills us with all joy and peace in BELIEVING, that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As we believe Him, believe His Word (faith), He fills us with joy and peace through the entrance of His Word, so that by the working of the Holy Spirit within us we will abound in hope – hope will literally overflow from within us.

The purpose of hope is not  to intensely expect or anticipate something you already have.  Instead,  it is  the  ability to  see  and  perceive  what is  unseen or  not  yet manifest, and to see it with such strong  expectation that it is a REALITY inside you.

Romans 8.24-25 – “For we are saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for WHY DOES ONE STILL HOPE FOR WHAT HE SEES?  But if we hope for what we DO NOT SEE, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

Would you hope for a certain pair of shoes if you already had that pair of shoes?  No.  You hope, or expect for WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE.

Verse 25 tells us that if we do hope for what we don’t see, we will eagerly wait for it with perseverance.  PERSEVERANCE (or patience in some translations) clearly reveals the nature and attitude of hope in this verse.

To persevere means to relentlessly stick with something in spite of difficulties and obstacles – to go the distance without giving up.

According to this verse, when we hope for what is presently unseen, we will eagerly wait for that promise by relentlessly staying with it (despite the difficulties), intensely expecting it until it comes to pass.  No matter how long it may take to be fulfilled – hope says, “I see it happening now, even though it’s not happening now – and I’m staying with it until it does!”

What if we don’t have that kind of hope alive in us?  What if we can’t see it yet that clearly?

Verse 26 says that “the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses: for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, BUT THE SPIRIT HIMSELF makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

The same Spirit from which this hope originates ALSO helps us in our weaknesses, or our inability to produce results.  He intercedes for us THROUGH US as we pray in the spirit.  If you’re having difficulty with staying strong on hope in a certain area, spend time praying in the Spirit.  He will make you to ABOUND in hope by His power at work within you.  Allow Him to make the promises of God so alive and real in your heart that nothing and no one will be able to convince you that His Word won’t come to pass in your life.  Once your hope becomes that focused, your faith has a clearer picture to give substance to.

It is not always necessarily a faith-failure when we do not obtain results in what we are believing for.   Many times our failure has been more hope-related, rather than faith-related.  Hope is what aids us in going the distance until the promise is fulfilled. We must possess both faith and hope together for each promise we stand on.

It is stated in Proverbs 13.12 that “hope deferred makes the heart sick…”   The word deferred  means to postpone, to prolong, or to lay aside.  As free moral agents, beings created with the power and right of choice, there is only one person or thing that can postpone, prolong, or lay aside our hope – our self.

No, it may not always be easy to stay full of hope when your circumstances are filled with hopelessness – but it is not impossible.  

The Word tells us that through the patience (perseverance) and comfort of the Scriptures we have hope. [Romans 15.4]   So it is important to stay in the Word and feed on it continually.

God’s promise can absolutely never fail.  For with God NOTHING is ever impossible, and NO WORD FROM GOD SHALL BE WITHOUT POWER or IMPOSSIBLE OF FULFILLMENT.  [Luke 1.37 AMP]

Mark 9.23 says that if you can BELIEVE, ALL THINGS are possible to him who believes.  The only difference between what is possible and what is impossible is what we choose to believe.  No matter how impossible a situation we may be dealing with in the natural, God is well able to turn it around and fulfill what He promised – but we must BELIEVE.   Exodus 14.14 says – the LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU and you won’t even have to lift a finger.  God will fight your fight for you.

Our Fight is the fight of faith and hope.  And as I have found, it really is very often a fight to stay on faith and hope – it is not automatic.  You have to stay with the Word, stay with the Holy Ghost, stay with prayer to keep your faith alive and strong on God’s promise – but it is a good fight because it always wins.

Your faith and hope were created to see the invisible and to do the impossible, to surpass all limitation, all boundaries, and to obtain and experience not part, but ALL that God has promised you.

It’s time to BELIEVE and walk in faith and hope more aggressively than we ever have before, refusing to give up on what our God has planned for us.

This life of Faith and Hope are REAL –  and if we will let them – they will change our world around us and go –  beyond  ALL  boundaries.

Copyright ©   27 June 2007  

Sharah LaGail Wyatt / First Love Ministries International

P O Box 163974    Ft Worth,  TX 76161  /   www.ps27fr.org

All Rights Reserved.

FIRST LOVE MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL is a Non-Profit corporation