05/29/2021
Does not being able to see God, and Jesus Christ, challenge our ability to believe in who they are, what they say, and the gift of eternity they promise awaits us? Can we love them despite our inability to see them with our eyes, and find joy in the hope we have gained through our faith?
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV
Scripture tells us that faith reassures our hope, and that hope prepares us for the reality of our conviction. Many things in life begin as hope, move into faith, become a belief, turn into trust, and finally emerge as reality. Let’s think about one of our childhood hopes, or, as we like to call them, dreams. One Christmas I hoped for a new bicycle, at night I would pray for it, and eventually I had faith that I would receive one. Then, during the coming days, my faith grew into a belief as I trusted in what Christmas Day would reveal, and I started visualizing all the places I would ride it. Now, not all of my childhood hopes and dreams became a reality; like the pony, the Army Jeep, and some other dangerous, or outlandish, desires, but my belief in a bicycle did become reality that year. When our current hopes are within the will of God for us then they become a reality too.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 ESV
Thomas doubted that Jesus had been resurrected. His Hopes had been dashed, and his faith more than shaken, but the wonderful part of this story is that Jesus reinstated his faith by telling him to put his finger in the nail holes in his hands, and to place his hand in the wound on his side. Listen as Jesus taught him, and us, a powerful lesson regarding belief…
“Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””
John 20:27-29 ESV
We are taught many lessons in faith; some small, but others quite large. If we fail to have faith in the least of these things, then how can we possibly come to believe in the great things? Our belief in the fact that God created all things, and did so by speaking them into existence begins with the little hopes… that a child’s prayer for a bicycle would be answered. If we can’t trust in God to be faithful in the small things then how can we ever trust him with our large hopes.
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
Hebrews 11:3 ESV
Reread today’s opening paragraph, and dwell on each sentence as you do. Ask yourself these hard questions, and weigh out your faith by them. Do we find joy in the hope we have gained through our faith?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the hope we have in you, and the faith that brings us to trust in you so completely. Thank you Lord for teaching us to wait upon you, even when we can’t see you with our eyes, or feel you moving in our lives. Hear our prayers Father when we ask that you help us in our unbelief ( Mark 9:24), and strengthen us so that our faith will not be shaken. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who blesses us in our faith, and reinvigorates us when our belief is wounded by the dark one. Great are you, for your strong right arm that is without equal, and your love for us which never fades with the light, or flickers in the wind of adversity. We praise your name for every ounce of faith, every belief we have in your Word, and all our answered prayers. Merciful are you Father for being willing to help us in our disbelief, and for revealing your will to us. Let the blood of your Son Jesus Christ wash us clean of sin, and may we receive the fullness of your grace as it flows through Him. We trust in this the New Covenant, and give you all the glory for our faith in it.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Romans 15:13 ESV
Rich Forbes