Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
I wonder at times why I am surprised.
It seems so obvious this morning as the sun once again comes up outside my window and the soft cool breezes float through the trees below—how can we not have faith enough to believe in the unbelievable?
When we take in all of God’s creation in the world around us—how does it not become clear to us that with God, what seems unbelievable becomes believable?
Paul’s encouragement to us in his letter to the Philippians always seems an appropriate follow-up to me to the verse from the writer of Hebrews above. From the man who endured much for the Hope he held in his heart, he shares this as a good place to start all of the mornings of all our days—
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3: 13b-14 (NIV)
So as our day begins, I wonder if we have that kind of faith in God that believes in the unbelievable, even though we can’t see what is coming around the bend of all of our tomorrows. I wonder if we have that kind of God-inspired faith that causes us to press on in the face of disappointments, setbacks and heartaches.
I wonder if we have that faith—that certainty in God—that causes us to continue to embrace the future He has set before us? The kind of faith that causes us to press on in the face of doubt and doubters, waning resources, tough times, believing that the vision God laid before us was really His and He will continue to bring it all about.
While all He asks us to do while He is at work in our lives—is to believe, to press on, and at times to simply grab on to the hem of His robe for dear life as He flies by to lead us into the future He has set before us.
I don’t know what you’re facing as this day and week unfolds before you—sometimes faster than your grip can endure. Perhaps you’ve lost a job, or didn’t get the promotion for which you had hoped. Maybe a family member has an illness that will affect their future, a relationship has taken a detour you never saw coming, or you just don’t seem to know what the rest of your days should look like.
May I suggest that with the God who created you, you can embrace for your life the faith the writer of Hebrews called you to—being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It’s that kind of faith that causes us to press on in the face of all that is before us, and all that happens to try to throw us off course, all the distractions of doubt and criticism, and all the heartaches, failures and disappointments that will surely litter the path along our way.
It’s a faith that calls us every day to believe in the unbelievable.
It’s a faith that blows through our lives with fresh winds of hope when we least expect it, reminding us again and again that the God of all creation is still in charge, has never left us, and is tapping on our shoulder reminding us that He still has much for us to do—for Him and for others.
It’s a faith that will carry us through all of our days, into the Hope of all of our tomorrows, and always with the God of all eternity.
Try it—it will turn your unbelievable to believable.
In His Name—Scott
