Every Monday morning I Skype with my best friend in California, Jamie K. Curtis. We usually spend the first chunk of our time talking about life and nonsense like what we ate for breakfast and then do a Bible study the rest of the time. We've been going through the book of Hebrews and read through chapter 11 yesterday.
What's great about the fact we read that chapter is that I had JUST finished expressing some discouragement to Jamie about something I wanted from God but didn't have or see yet.
That's a hard spot to be in.
Yes, I know He's control and good and His timing is perfect, but I just want this thing from Him, dangit! I'm being dramatic, I know, but I was feeling dramatic.
Then Jamie and I read:
"Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see."
- Hebrews 11:1Sooo does this verse mean that if I hope hard enough for God to send a puppy to our doorstep that it will happen?! That would be awesome!, but I don't think that's the same thing as faith.
Basically the rest of Hebrews 11 tells examples of biblical people who had faith. The important part here is that the stories of those people aren't about them having faith that God would do what they think should be done-- I think that's where we get confused about faith. Most of the examples were of people who had no idea what God was doing, but they chose to have faith IN HIM anyway.
Faith isn't about us ending up with what we want; it's totally about trusting in a God who gets what He wants.
The "what we hope for" part is not about us, it's about the glory of God. Our hope is in Him and in the fact that our faith in Him surely brings Him glory.
And we are "certain of what we do not see" simply because we believe who God says He is. We can't SEE Him, but we are certain that He holds the world in His hands and is fully trustworthy with our faith- because He is a good God who acts in our best interest.
So when you're in a spot like I am and are struggling to understand what God is doing and where He is taking you, have faith. Have faith in Him and the fact that He is perfectly loving and good and promises to care for His children. And also in the fact that He's so powerful that He could send puppies to appear on everyone's doorstep if He wanted to. :) Because He's God and this world belongs to Him.
If you know anything about Hebrews 11, it's all about faith.
What's great about the fact we read that chapter is that I had JUST finished expressing some discouragement to Jamie about something I wanted from God but didn't have or see yet.
That's a hard spot to be in.
Yes, I know He's control and good and His timing is perfect, but I just want this thing from Him, dangit! I'm being dramatic, I know, but I was feeling dramatic.
Then Jamie and I read:
"Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see."
- Hebrews 11:1Sooo does this verse mean that if I hope hard enough for God to send a puppy to our doorstep that it will happen?! That would be awesome!, but I don't think that's the same thing as faith.
Basically the rest of Hebrews 11 tells examples of biblical people who had faith. The important part here is that the stories of those people aren't about them having faith that God would do what they think should be done-- I think that's where we get confused about faith. Most of the examples were of people who had no idea what God was doing, but they chose to have faith IN HIM anyway.
Faith isn't about us ending up with what we want; it's totally about trusting in a God who gets what He wants.
The "what we hope for" part is not about us, it's about the glory of God. Our hope is in Him and in the fact that our faith in Him surely brings Him glory.
And we are "certain of what we do not see" simply because we believe who God says He is. We can't SEE Him, but we are certain that He holds the world in His hands and is fully trustworthy with our faith- because He is a good God who acts in our best interest.
I think it makes good sense to reword the verse like this:
"Faith is being sure of what our God can do and certain of who our God is."
So when you're in a spot like I am and are struggling to understand what God is doing and where He is taking you, have faith. Have faith in Him and the fact that He is perfectly loving and good and promises to care for His children. And also in the fact that He's so powerful that He could send puppies to appear on everyone's doorstep if He wanted to. :) Because He's God and this world belongs to Him.
LOVE!
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