Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Faith, Hope, Love.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

This has been (still is!) a year where the Lord is stretching me and teaching me to trust and grow in my faith. I am trying to learn to be assured that what I hope (what God promises) will become evident as I walk in faith and trust in Him.

I've been here before. It's not a pleasant place to be, but I remember the past and see how God has been faithful. Not only in my life, but as I read Scripture I see how God moves in mighty ways to bring people and nations to a place of refuge.

We can't know love without experiencing hate. We can't know comfort without experiencing pain. We can't know peace without experiencing fear. We can't grow in faith without going through doubt. It's the way God created us. Why? I have no clue...but I will pray for more of God's faith in my life and continue the journey that is laid out before me.

One scripture that God has laid on my heart is Romans 5: 1-5. I desire what Paul describes and hope for the evidence of things not seen.

"Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Christ we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that...

we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character prouduces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us."

May God's faith bring us hope, and teach us to love.

4 comments:

Ruth W. said...

Amen

quig said...

Wow, that was well said Mark, but it makes me think that there is something going on in your life that is troubling you... I will pray for you... john

nbta said...

Thanks John! Good to hear from you and hope you all are well. As far as troubles...same as always! It's called life but I need to always remind myself, redirect myself, and allow the Lord a little room in my life to keep me on track! Blessings!

quig said...

and blessings to your too!!