Hope and Faith

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."  -Hebrews 11:1

Have you arrived after sunset someplace you've never been before and awoken in the morning to be surprised by what you see?  This is what happened to us when we went to Merida, Mexico last year.  We didn't get to our hotel until 9:30 p.m.  The first thing I did was to look out our hotel window to see the lively nightlife in the plaza below.  When we looked out our window the next morning the plaza held only a few people and we saw for the first time the magnificent church across the street outlined by a beautiful clear blue sky.  I spent the week checking out that view whenever we were in our room.

In Our Daily Bread today Cindy Kasper writes of a similar occurrence while on vacation.  They arrived in the fog so were unaware of the beautiful scene that awaited them in the morning outside their window:  "Then we could see what had been grimly shrouded the night before--a completely idyllic scene--peaceful and lush green meadow, sheep grazing with tiny tinkling bells about their necks, and big white clouds in the sky that looked exactly like more sheep--huge, fluffy sheep!"
Cindy went on to use this to show what faith does for us.  She writes, "...just as the sun burns away a fog, our faith in God can burn away the haze of doubt."

When we are in the dark we do not see the whole picture.  This is when faith has to carry us until God shines His light on the situation.  We must have confidence in what we hope for.  This is faith.  It is this confidence that assures us that God is there working all things for good.

I am grateful that my salvation is predicated on faith because it is through faith that I learn to be patient and not to give up hope.