Can You Have Hope Without Faith?
So many people today are depressed and discouraged because they seem to only focus on their present circumstances. They are constantly dwelling on their problems, what they don’t have, and what’s wrong with them. They don’t seem to realize that they are allowing the enemy to steal their hope. This (negative) frame of mind is what keeps people from moving forward in their life.
If you seem mostly focused on what’s wrong, or what’s not working, then it’s time to dig up your tent stakes! It’s time to pack up your belongings and move out of the land of discouragement. Move far away from the “Not going to happen” sub-division. It’s also time to leave the “Self-pity Estates.” Get out of living in those areas and move into the land of hope, faith, and expectation!
Maybe you don’t quite know how to get there? Just open your heart to the Lord and ask Him in prayer to direct your thoughts and expectations. You need to understand that having a strong faith is also having a steadfast and unshakable confidence and assurance about the things that we hope for will truly happen.
Your time is coming! The dreams and desires, the things you want to accomplish, the situations you want to see changed will happen. Just because it has taken longer than you expected, or because you have tried and failed, never give up on those dreams. Never be complacent about pursuing what God has placed in your heart!
“But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” (Habakkuk 2:3 NLT)
Can You Have Hope Without Faith? Like an arrow, your faith points to the target of hope. If you do not have faith, that arrow will lose its momentum and just drop to the ground before reaching the target, and will not accomplish its goal. When your faith is strong and unwavering, and you continue to keep expecting and believing you will give your arrow the momentum to hit the target!
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NLT)
Why not start today to choose to live with an attitude of expectancy. Begin by taking captive any negative thoughts that you may have (one at a time). Choose to release to God your cares and concerns, then stay focused on the goodness in your life. Get your hopes up! As you focus on your faith and on God’s goodness, you will start to feel your hope inside you growing. You will truly give your faith a target and start to move forward with confidence. Then pray and thank God for the gift of faith to see the impossible become possible as you continue to hope for what He has put in your heart.
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16, NLT)
Notice in the verse above that God doesn’t say, “Come to Me with a weak, defeated, pitiful attitude.” He does not say, “Come to Me thinking about all your failures and how unworthy you are.” No, God says, come to Me with boldness. Come to Me with your head held high, knowing that I am a gracious God, and I truly want to help you!
Start declaring today, “My time is coming… God is working behind the scenes on my behalf… I will fulfill my destiny… I will fulfill the plan that God has for my life!” As you declare, expect and wait for the appointed time, your faith will grow. Your hope will grow. And you will step into the destiny that God has in store for you!
-S. Coffman
