Hope and Faith
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Also through Him, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
In these verses, we clearly see that faith and hope work together. Each must have an object in order to be effective, or all you have is a wish and nothing substantial to sustain it. The object of our faith is the sacrifice Jesus made for us, by which we stand before God as righteous and receive grace. The object of our hope is that the glory of God will be revealed in our life.
Faith takes us to the throne room, where we can ask anything of God according to His will, and He will do it. Hope is the constant looking for God’s glory in the middle of our dark circumstances. If we lose hope, the loss of our faith will follow. Looking for and expecting the glory of God to appear in our life fuels the faith to go before His throne and ask. Faith grabs hold of hope, presents the matter to God, and gives us assurance as we continue to seek Him in our daily life.
Hope is born out of difficulty. As the following verses explain, “affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” As we face affliction, we experience God’s love poured out into our hearts and producing endurance. God’s love continues to pour into our life while we endure to produce proven character. God’s love works through our proven character to produce hope. We are changed through the entire process by God’s love, which comes to us through the Holy Spirit. By the time we see hope bursting forth, we have become dependent upon the love of God, and we have learned to trust it.
Trust the love God has for you today. Receive it. Bask in His presence and just enjoy it. Take it with you as you face your difficulty today, and allow it to mold you. He is producing something in you that will not disappoint as His glory is revealed in you, to you, and through you.
Have a blessed day!