Patient Faith – Enduring Hope – Unfailing Love
Having patient faith requires an enduring hope; a hope that when threatened, is never conquered, a hope that never stops believing in God’s ability to heal and a hope in our eternal reward in heaven. The required stamina for having faith comes from the endurance we receive from Christ’s life within us. He not only enables us with resilience, but he strengthens us with confident perseverance through our hope in Him (Isaiah 40:28-31).
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
- Hebrews 11:1
We have all had circumstances in life that we feel hopeless in; we don’t see “how we are going to make it through it this time” and moments where we just want to give up. Who do we run to when those times hit us? It’s easy to run to those around us, or even cuddle up under “our blankets” and hide from the world that has enveloped us. The person we need to run to is in fact not a person at all, but our compassionate, loving, faithful God. God provides people in our life to support us and love us, but the main comfort we receive and the main medicine we take for our sickness should be from God. It’s is in Him that we can remain hopeful, it’s in Him that we can be assured that we will make it, and it’s in Him that we need to find our strength. We need to remember that trouble tests, patience perseveres and hope endures. When trouble strikes we can strike back with patience and hope, knowing that no matter what, God is with us. Enduring hope is the willingness to suffer for others, to tolerate pain and undergo many trials and difficulty with out a second glance at our own desires. It’s the ultimate persistence. We need to have that!
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us.” – Romans 5:1-5
We need to be hopeful about the future and what it holds for us. We can’t fall into doubt and discouragement because of our present discomforts. It’s easy to want to avoid the uneasiness or anxiety that this world continually supplies by any mean possible. Isn’t that why we have faith in God though; so we can let Him take care of it all? Part of trusting God is having faith that He has a plan for everything. Even the bad things that happen turn out for the better in the end (Romans 8:28)! There is so much that God does in our life that we may think He has no part in, but really He plays a roll in it all. We may not always feel hopeful about doing things that make us uneasy, but we need to get used to going out of our comfort zones. It’s kind of like water skiing, when you are inside the wake of the boat you feel safe. To get out to the other water though you have to go out side of the wake, which can looks pretty intimidating sometimes. We need remember that we have God with us though in those situations where faith is called into play. God calls us out of comfort zones for a reason and though we may not see it, we need to go where He leads us.
Our hope for the future needs to come from the eternal glory we will share with our Savior and glory we can bring Him now! It is easy to be short sighted in the way we live. We don’t always think of the consequences of our actions when we carry them out. When doubt so effortlessly blinds our eyes to the happiness God wants us to have and we find ourselves caught up in making choices based on getting rid of that doubt or that discomfort, we need to stop and ask God for strength. Our call to follow Jesus is a simple one, but not always the easiest task to complete. Our eyes need to be on God and in the present battle, but we also need to be aware of the future that we are setting ourselves up for now. Are we living for a future gain or a present pleasure? Hope is having courage in God and courage is deciding to follow God more closely then the world.
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
There is so much that I have posted on that ties into this whole message. Our heart needs to be aligned with the desires of the Holy spirit. Our heart needs to be filled with the joy of the Spirit. We need to be patient, we need to use the knowledge we have gained for the glory of God. We need to be inspired by the beauty of the world around us. We have so much to live for and yet most of the time we don’t. If we have a divine relationship with our king, we can have joy in the hope that we as Christians have; eternal life with God and all our fellow believers. What greater hope is there to have!?! We must remain hopeful in everything and patient no matter what! We need to work on this so badly! To accomplish the task of having a patient faith, an enduring hope and an unfailing love is a task that we can never perfect, but it’s the necessary step we need to take in order to live as one with Christ! No matter what this life throws at us we need to remain steadfast and confident! It is SO hard, I know, but it is SO worth it!!
In pain there is healing, in God’s name we can find meaning. In loneliness we can find comfort, so hold on! Hold on to the reality and truth of God’s love and faithfulness. Have faith; be sure of what you hope for and remain confident in what you don’t see! Enduring hope isn’t just a fickle wish for tomorrow; it’s a vigorous determination to remain locked in God’s embrace. Remain patient in faith and enduring in hope!
Dear Skylar,
I love the last two sentences SO much!
“Enduring hope isn’t just a fickle wish for tomorrow; it’s a vigorous determination to remain locked in God’s embrace. Remain patient in faith and enduring in hope!
Can I keep it in my quotes collection?
Preston and I were driving to church yesterday in heavy fog, and he turned to me and said, “We are driving by faith!” It reminds me of the verse you used from Hebrews 11:1.
I sent out a devotional yesterday to my family about the three responses to trials in your life:
Salem House Of Prayer
The Best Way to Prepare for Trouble
Jim Moore
Dec 15 2008 04:25PM
The Best Way to Prepare for Trouble
Jim Moore
12.15.08
“The best way to prepare for trouble…is to plan to profit because of it”.
Every person will face trouble in this life as Jesus said. Some will face more of it than others. Every trouble comes with three options. When the trouble is over and passed, one of three things will have happened to you.
1. You will have been defeated by it.
2. You will have survived it.
3. You will have profited from it.
Which one of these three things that happens, will largely depend on how you plan the end result of your trouble. That may come as a shock to you…that you can plan the end result of your trouble…but it is true. You are not subject to the outcome of your trial, the outcome of your trial is subject to you. You may not have a say in whether or not you go through the trial…but you do have a great deal to say about the end result of it. That is the prerogative that has been given to you by the Lord. Jesus is the Lord over all things, and as a co-heir and partner with Him, that means you have a share in His authority.
You have a say.
Look at those 3 things again. The first one is a minus. Something will be taken from you as a result of your current problem. The second one is a zero. That means you make it through without suffering loss but that is all. You have gained nothing. You have simply survived the scenario thrust upon you. The third one is a plus. You actually take something with you at the end. You are actually better off than before you were put into the trouble. Remember your basic math positive and negative tables? I did poorly in math, but I do remember this:
-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10
There is a minus part of the equation. There is a zero part of the equation. And there is a plus part of the equation. Every trial carries with it three possibilities. You get to choose which one will happen to you. As I said, you may not get to say whether or not the trial happens, or if trouble goes on around you, but you absolutely get to dictate how it will affect you. Most of us just hope to get out of the thing alive. Just get me through this Lord! But that is not the Lords intent…simply your survival. He wants you to thrive. To gain from the events surrounding you. Let me make this point perfectly clear:
There is something waiting for you within this trouble that you could not get otherwise.
That’s one reason God allows it rather than stopping it. Because there is a benefit in it for you. Something you wouldn’t otherwise be able to attain. It would be a shame to miss out on the gold and simply go through the fire. Fire is hot and uncomfortable and it hurts. We are not called to go through fire just to go through it…but to get the gold. Hear what Jesus said about our trouble or trials:
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich…” Rev 3:18
We settle for the fire of trial, without the corresponding gold that is ours as a result. The gold is what makes the trial worthwhile. Imagine going through the trial and settling only for survival. Phew…at least I made it through. No! I want the gold! I want to be conformed to the image of Jesus! I want to be nearer to Him!
Trouble has a purpose.
I had a vision some years ago. I saw a man going into a cave. He had no proper clothing or light or prior preparation. He went in the cave. It was dark and damp and he kept hitting his head. He stumbled and fell. He had a very rough time of it. It was miserable and painful. When he finally came out, I head him say these words: “I hope I never have to go through that again”. Who can blame him? I would feel the same way.
Then I saw another man coming to the cave. He was dressed properly. He had a flashlight. He was prepared. He looked as if he was going in with a purpose…to find something. When he came out, he too had some bumps and scrapes. It was still unpleasant for him, but he was smiling. He lifted up his hand and shouted “look what I found!” He had a beautiful colored gem stone in his hand.
He did not say anything about going back in, but I instinctively knew that he would be willing to. Not because the cave was any more pleasant for him than for the other man, but because he came out of it with something. He was better off than before. It still hurt, but it was worth it. The gem made the cave worth going through. I would not trade my trials for anything. They have made me who I am today. So it is that God intends us to not suffer loss, or simply survive the coming days ahead, but to position ourselves in such a way that we will thrive in them. He intends for us to advance in them. For His kingdom to advance. But we must prepare in order to do so. We are to conquer them, not the other way around.
Fear is a minus. Cast out fear. Faith is a plus. Embrace faith.
So the best way to prepare for trouble…is to change the way you think about it. Then, begin to prepare. They are not to be dreaded or avoided or feared. They are to be seen as something to be profited by. If I have to go into the cave…I am not coming out without that gem.
The above seems to go along with your devotional. I hope you like it.
Diane
Don’t waste your trials. Prepare for them and so be advanced by them.
Jim Moore
Salem House of Prayer