How is your faith and hope increased?
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Biblical faith and hope are established upon God’s unchangeable nature and character. To have an overcoming and victorious Christian life, you must have a strong foundation of faith and hope in God. This faith and hope is not impacted by the severity or size of the problems of life. You can impact the problems or challenges you face in life with your faith and hope.
Romans 15:13 NKJV Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:24-25 NKJV For we were 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.
How is your faith and hope increased?
Throughout the Bible we are given encouragement and inspiration so that we can live in faith and hope and not only endure all things but be made to increase and abound in the LORD, (Romans 15:4-5). Watch people of great faith and hope in the Scriptures and you will see how God not only gave them strong encouragement but also accomplished His plan in them. You need to remind yourself that God’s thoughts and plans for you is to do you good, prosper you, give you hope and a future, (Jeremiah 29:11).
There are several notable people of faith and hope mentioned in Hebrews 11.
Their life experiences show how faith and hope in God carried them through various kinds of experiences with joy and gladness. Many of them went through great tests and difficulties, but they found that God is faithful as promised. As a result of Noah hearing God and moving with faith and hope in God, he became an heir and possessor of God’s promise. He could rejoice on the other side of the flood that God was faithful as promised and carried them through. Urged on by faith, Abraham held firmly to the hope of God’s promise. Read Hebrews 11 and you will see many people who were controlled and sustained by their faith and hope in God.
Isaiah 35:3-4 NKJV Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 35:5-6 NKJV Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.
How is your faith and hope increased?
To have increased faith and hope, you must be rooted and grounded in the Word of God and not just on your experience or feelings. Biblical hope in God is established upon a solid expectation and certainty that is obtained by faith in God’s Word. Often in great times of stress, difficulty, and hardship, people of strong faith and hope in God reminded themselves of Who God is and what He has said. They found that they were not able to sustain themselves through times of affliction, war and difficulties without strong faith and hope in God. Their emotions and feelings fluctuated and did not provide stable faith and hope. Strong faith and hope enables and secures our prayer. To cultivate unwavering faith and hope, you must be firmly established in the Word of God.
Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Where do we get faith and hope?
Faith comes through the application of the Word of God to your life. It is impossible to separate God from His Word. God stands behind every word that has proceeded from His mouth. Your hope originates in God Himself. Your hope is in God, (Psalms 39:7) and your expectations come from Him, (Psalms 62:5).
Faith and hope flow from specific sources.
The bedrock and foundation of your faith and hope is in God’s character and promises.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that “God’s thoughts toward you are plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Hope and faith naturally emerges by remembering God’s faithfulness, character and promises. Since God continually shows us mercy and His compassions fail not, you can have hope and faith in Him, (Lamentations 3:21-24).
Watch how faith and hope in God sustained Abraham and Sarah.
Abraham was called the father of faith because he believed God.
Romans 4:20-21 NKJV He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Even when everything looked hopeless, in hope Abraham believed God. He did not waver, but strengthened His faith, being fully convinced that God was able to do what He said. Abraham faced the facts of his life with the credibility of God’s word.
We should take into account of the power of the Word of God.
Hebrews 11:3 NKJV By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
John 1:1-3 NKJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Notice the impact and power of God’s Word. There was nothing until God began to speak, and by the Word of God all things were made. It is impossible to separate God from His Word. God stands behind every Word that comes out of His mouth. Not only does He stand behind His Word, His throne and authority are behind His Word. Every Word of God is powerful and accomplishes His purpose.
How is your faith and hope increased?
God just called and set aside Jeremiah to be His voice among the people.
Jeremiah was feeling intimidated and weak because he was a young man. God told him, “Whatever I command you, you shall speak.” God took note of Jeremiah’s fear and weakness, so the LORD reached out and touched his mouth and said, “I have put My words in your mouth.”
Jeremiah 1:12 NASB95 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”
God watches over His word to perform it.
Notice the certainty of God’s word in Mark 13:31 where Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away.”
How is your faith and hope increased?
Faith and hope should increase and not remain static across a believer’s lifetime.
Your faith and hope will grow as your knowledge of God and His word increases, and your confidence in Him strengthens. Spiritual growth, faith and hope reinforces each other. Faith comes by hearing and understanding God’s Word and by it becoming a part of us. David said he meditated on the Word of God day and night.
The foundation for your faith and hope is God and His Word.
You cannot have a strong faith and hope without a strong foundation in the Word of God. If you want your faith to grow, you must feed on the Word of God, pray, and fellowship with Christ.
How is your faith and hope increased?
Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
You can see the application of this in Abraham’s faith and hope in God. When all natural hope was gone that he would become the father of many nations, in faith he held on to the hope he had in God. Faith and hope were inseparable and strengthened each other.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the strong confident assurance and conviction that what God said is going to happen.
Hope functions as the active expression of faith. Without hope, faith becomes empty. Hope without faith becomes presumption. These grow and increase together. Even in times of great tribulation and adversity, hope and faith increase because God’s love is poured into believer’s hearts, (Romans 5:1-5). This faith and hope does not disappoint but gives us the ability to stand and rejoice. Hope looks toward the future with expectation of what faith believes the Word of God promised and declares will happen.
Isaiah 35:9 NKJV The ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Faith binds us to the promise that is in Christ, while hope opens that faith to every element and aspect of Christ’s resources. Faith and hope will enable you to face all of life’s challenges with confidence in God’s faithfulness.
- When God’s Word says, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory through Christ.” (Philippians 4:19)
He will supply all your need!
- When His Word says, “He is the strength of our life” (Psalms 27:1)
He is your strength!
- When His Word says, “by His stripes you are healed” (Isaiah 53:5)
You will be healed!
- If His Word says, “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28)
All things work together for your good!
- If God says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers you out of them all.” (Psalms 34:19)
He will deliver you out of them all!
Everything that is written in the Scriptures impart encouragement and inspiration so you can live in hope, (Romans 15:4). You can trust the integrity of God’s Word.