Read your Bible – be filled with faith and hope
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning,
that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Hello saints,
Hope! How do we get it? We develop it by our faith, as hope is basically a desire for a future good, a blessing, a reward, a deliverance – it is the belief that a desired outcome is possible. Fear can quench and kill hope, if we allow the fear to overwhelm us. The ‘bad news’ of death, disease, catastrophe can either immobilize us into inaction or drive us to that in which we have put our trust. The question is not necessarily, “how do we get hope?”, but rather “where is our faith”? Hope is believing that something good is possible – that’s faith; but faith in what or whom? The apostle Paul saw the Old Testament Scriptures as a source of hope. As he read the stories of God working through His people in the past, he believed that the same God would work for and in His people in the present. As he read and believed what he read, Paul saw a God who delivers and rescues and saves and heals. The stories of God’s past workings were what gave Paul encouragement, perseverance, endurance, comfort and hope to face the current trials he had to endure. The New Living Translation of Romans 15:4 is so clear: “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises.” When we read the mighty acts of God done in the past, we are filled with faith and hope in a God who can do the same for us in the present and near future. Is that not why we read the Bible today – to build our faith in the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever? That is the purpose of Hebrews 11 – to build the faith and hope of a church community enduring trials and tribulations of the time: “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” (Heb. 11:1 NLT) Hope is so dependent on faith in a sovereign God who is able to bring about a desired outcome. Faith and hope both come from reading the Bible! How much time we spend reading the Bible will be evidenced by the amount of faith and subsequently, hope we possess. We are commanded as parents to teach the mighty deeds of God to the next generations to instill in them faith and hope, so they can rely on the God of the Bible for encouragement and comfort as they go through this challenging life (Psalm 145:4). An anxiety/fear-ridden generation is proof we have not been transferring the faith to our young, or maybe that the parents do not read and believe the God of the Bible. Bible reading produces faith and hope!
Have you read of Jehoshaphat in 2Chronicles 20? What an incredible story of deliverance! It filled me with hope as I read of a God who rescued His people through prayer and praise. An invading army was coming; the king of Judah was afraid, but immediately turned to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah (vs. 3). Everyone sought the Lord and cried out to Him – they remembered God’s past deliverance, His power and might, and their own weakness and inability without God’s intervention (vss. 6-13). Their trust and hope were in the God who worked in the past – in the stories of Abraham and David they had heard of a God who is ‘our ever-present help in time of need’. As they gathered, God spoke and reminded His people that the battle belongs to God, not to them (vss. 15, 17). They fell down and worshipped the Lord! The God of old was still with them, even as He is with us today – the same God! They got up early the next morning and went out to the battle, unafraid and full of faith and hope! Jehoshaphat encouraged the people: “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in His prophets and you will be successful” (vs. 20). Instead of fighting, they praised the Lord, and the Lord took over and defeated the invading army by turning the army on itself. No one was left standing - the enemy had been defeated, completely by God, without Judah’s help! Judah went in and gathered the spoils and held a great triumph party, blessing the Lord for His miraculous deliverance! That’s our God who goes before us to defeat our enemies – the ones we cannot defeat without His assistance and intervention! That’s the God I put my faith in; how ‘bout you? He’s my hope, because my God is the God I read about and believe! He has demonstrated it in my life over and over again, but most significantly by defeating sin, and death, and the devil – enemies I was powerless to have victory over. It would have been certain death had He not intervened to rescue me! By God’s grace, I was given faith and hope to trust Him for salvation from my enemies. And that faith came from the word of God (Rom. 10:17), and my hope in a better future comes from the same because God promised it in His word, and will fulfill His promises, cause that’s who He is - a promise keeping, saving God! Do you know Him? Open your scriptures and be filled with faith and hope!
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. (Rom. 15:13)
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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