Faith
A few weeks ago I was talking to a great friend of mine about the phrase Victory Beyond Competition. He loved the phrase and we talked about what it meant to know that as followers of Jesus we can be certain that despite our accomplishments and failures, victory is always possible. While we were talking we talked about what it looked like for us as men, husbands and fathers to drive those we influence towards an eternal victory, rather than temporary ones here on earth. We both agreed that having faith in the victory we have in Jesus is essential in our pursuit.
If there was ever a year for us to learn to exercise faith it was 2020. The world was put on pause through the spring and then just as we thought we were turning the corner in May and June, the racial tensions across America spilled out into the streets and many of us watched in horror as decades of frustration in our ethnic communities seemed to cause chaos and countless lives and businesses were either severely impacted or lost. Then the last 2 months of 2020 gave us the most divisive and nasty election our country has witnessed.
Like you, I looked towards 2021 with great anticipation of turning the page from last year and starting fresh, but then on January 6th we once again were glued to the news and images that flooded oru newsfeeds when American citizens inconceivably invaded The Untied States Capitol building. I don’t know about you, but all I could muster up is, “how long oh Lord?” How long will all of this last? Why does it seem like everything is continually in chaos and is there ever going to be a reprieve?
As I talk with and observe those I serve with and minister to I continued to hear and sense an alarming trend. hope is fading and faith is being tested to the point that may have claimed to lose their faith.
I started this year reading through the New Testament book of Hebrews reminding me of the certainty of what Christ’s work has done on my behalf. In chapter 11 of this work, the writer of Hebrews introduces us to a group of faithful all stars. And begins this chapter with these well known words, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
There are some key terms in this simple verse that give us strength to endure through unsettling times and allow us to grow and exercise our faith as we move towards an eternal victory beyond our circumstances.
- Confidence
- Hope
- Assurance
Confidence:
The first foundation of faith is our confidence. Having confidence in something means that you are certain of it. Think about it, if you were not certain of something then you wouldn’t have any confidence in it. I have full confidence that if I fuel my body with proper nutrition I am better able to achieve my physical goals. If I am work hard at tasks and skills when no one is looking, then I have confidence that I will perform better when it matters most. Confidence is huge. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that the 1st step in living a life of faith is having full confidence that our future glory will far outweigh our present suffering (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Hope
Hope is one of those spiritual words that we use when we try to sound Godly. But what really is hope? I have found it useful to look at what hope isn’t to understand what it is. Having hope is not the same as wishing for something. Wishing is wanting something to happen, hope is waiting for something that you are confident will come to fruition. We can never hope for anything we don’t anticipate will happen. For a lot of us, hope is all we have to hold onto because our current realities are very difficult.
Assurance
Like confidence, assurance gives us certainty that what we hope for is not in vain. The Apostles who were trained by Jesus saw and experienced incredible miracles and heard great teachings from Jesus but it wasn’t until they were certain that Jesus rose from the dead that they realized the power of God can turn any situation of darkness to light.
What about you? Do you have faith?
Not faith in the bible or faith that everything will turn out well.
Do you have the kind of faith that Hebrews 11 talks about?
Your faith in the future glory of Jesus is what will propel you through situations that seem helpless. Sometimes faith looks like borrowing from the certainty of the future to have the energy, resolve and stamina to endure what we are experiencing today.
The hard thing about faith is that we must actively believe that Jesus is who he says he is and will do exactly what he said he would do.
May we experience ultimate victory beyond our circumstances through faith.