THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOPE AND FAITH (PART 2)

TEXT:

"And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." (Genesis chapter 11 verse 6, King James Version).

We did say before now that in life, you can't see anything happen without imagining it in your mind. Conversely, for you to see something happen in your life, you have to imagine it in your mind. We all know what hope is. It is seeing and expecting something that you can’t see physically. Someone has rightly referred to hope as a positive imagination. What is meant by this is that if you are someone that dwells on negative imaginations, the result is that you'll see failure manifest in your life. Conversely, if your imagination is on the positive side, for instance, you're hoping in your mind to experience a miracle, that's what you'll see happen eventually. In the area of healing, If you can’t see yourself healed or if you can't imagine yourself healthy, you won’t see healing manifest in your body. This is very true!

     This is so because what you think about has the power to influence your hope in life. Any wonder why Philippians 4 verse 8 tells us to think on things that are wholesome? What's more, Scriptures have encouraged us to renew our minds with the Word of God in order to get us to align ourselves with God's will for our lives (see Romans 12 verse 2, Colossians 3 verse 10 and Ephesians 4 verses 23 to 24).

      Renewing our minds with God's Word will help us change the negative image that is inside of us by creating hope. Truth is, you will become exactly what you imagine or hope for, whether it be positive or negative. If your imaginative thoughts are on failure, so will you be. After all, as you think in your heart, so you are (Proverbs 23 verse 7). If we are going to be successful in life, our responsibility therefore, is to get to God's Word in order to get our hopes and imaginations to line up with His will for us.

The Book of Romans 15 verse 4 spells the source of hope, that hope comes through the Word of God.

  "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

      What God's Word will do for you is that it will help to create in you hope that "maketh not ashamed" (Romans 5 verse 5). Hope that "maketh not ashamed" is simply defined as hope that cannot fail; it's hope that doesn't disappoint us!

     In part 1 in this series, I mentioned that Romans 8 verses 24 to 25 says among other things that we are saved by hope because we wait with patience for what we hope for, though we do not see it.

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Romans 8 verses 24 to 25).

     I want you to see that there's a beautiful relationship that runs through hope, patience and faith. Patience is simply staying positive (having faith) over a prolonged period of time with regards to what you hope for. This, in other words, is referred to as having a strong sense of hope over time with respect to something you believe God for; and the Bible says that such hope will not disappoint you (Romans 5 verse 5).

     If you have a strong sense of hope or imagination for something, the tendency is that you will have the patience to wait for its manifestation, although it takes much time. This is patience! The Bible says that we should let patience have her perfect work that we may be perfect (or become matured in the faith) and entire and wanting nothing (James 1 verse 4). Another thing that patience does for us is that it comes in place to undergird our faith during trying moments of life. In other words, patience enables us to be consistent through trials and tests that the enemy brings against us.

    That strong sense of hope, will trigger patience because you know beyond the shadow of doubt that you will not be disappointed or ashamed of your hope in God. This in turn will cause you to have faith, believing that whatever you are hoping and waiting for will manifest eventually before your eyes because your imagination has made it real to you in your mind.

PRAYER:

Lord, my hope is built on Your infallible and unfailing Word. Knowing that You are faithful to Your Word, I am certain that I will never be ashamed of my hope, in Jesus name.