Faith and Hope
by Willie Keys
Faith and hope are distinct yet related. It is my belief that faith and hope must co-exist together. Faith and hope complement each other as we mature in our spiritual journey with God. Faith is the catalyst of hope. It is the building block which provides the foundation of our hope.
Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not.”
Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Faith is a complete trust or confidence in something. Faith involves intellectual assent to a set of facts and trust in those facts. For example, we have faith in Jesus Christ. This means we completely trust Jesus for our eternal destiny. We give intellectual assent to the facts of His substitutionary death and bodily resurrection, and we then trust in His death and resurrection for our salvation.
Biblical hope is built on faith. Hope is the earnest anticipation that comes with believing something is good. Hope is a confident expectation that naturally stems from faith. Hope is a peaceful assurance that something that hasn’t happened yet will indeed happen. Hope must involve something that is as yet unseen: “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” (Romans 8:24)
Jesus’ return is our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). We can’t see Him yet, but we know He’s coming, and we anticipate that event with joy. Therefore, the concept of doubt is not part of this word.
I would be naïve to tell you that living in this fallen world is easy because we know this is far from the truth. But what I don’t want is for you to find yourself existing in this fallen world. Don’t let Jesus going to the cross out of love for His father and us go in vain. As children of God, we are to live in this world with the confidence that this world is not our home. Our power is the faith and hope we have in Jesus Christ, and He is our assurance that our final home will be in heaven with him and God.
Faith and Hope are not things to be kept in a cabinet or on a shelf to be pulled down when the need arises. Faith and hope should take residence in the core of our hearts, minds and souls. Why? Our faith and hope are a result of our love and trust in God and Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
I believe we should make God part of every phase of our lives. But if we were truly honest with ourselves, we sometimes forget about God when everything is going great. But we, as believers, should always establish the mindset of keeping God first in our daily lives. God should be in the forefront of our prayers, finances, relationships, grief, health, joyful times and be the number one love of our lives. Why should God be first? He is our source for everything in our lives, and He loves us so very much. “In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10).
Second, He sent His only son (Jesus Christ) to die on the cross for our sins. With all the things Jesus has sacrificed for us, He is still interceding for us on the throne of glory. The name of Jesus will always be the name above all names and still the one our faith and hope should be grounded in.
Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”
Isaiah 40: 30-31 says, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior with our hearts, minds and souls, the Holy Spirit enters our earthly body and dwells in us. The Holy Spirit becomes our internal spiritual compass to navigate us through this fallen world. From the moment the Holy Spirit enters our bodies, our walk with Jesus begins. Our faith and hope begin to mature alone with an inner desire to learn more about God and his Son (Jesus).
Job 11:18-19: You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.
Psalm 147:11: The LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.
Romans 5:2-5: Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
A popular saying is, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” But I say when it comes to your spiritual faith and hope, it should be grounded in our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. He has proven to be that loving, faithful and trustworthy God to all who believes in Him. If you must put your life in someone’s hands, put in the hands of a God who said: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Author Bio: I am Willie Keys, and I serve as the Minister to Senior Adults at Council Road Baptist Church. I have been given the blessing of being gracefully broken and molded in the image of Jesus Christ on a daily basis. I pray that each day a part of me dies, and that Jesus grows in me. Who Loves Me? JESUS! He loves all His children beyond our wildest imaginations.