Hello, and welcome to Faith is Hope,
I’m Dave
Every moment of every day we are being constantly attacked and bombarded by what’s going on here in America and the world. When an illness or injury attacks our body or our emotions, there are medicines and treatments that we can receive. But when it’s your faith that’s being attacked, what then? When the world seems so dark that you begin to lose hope in everything and everyone. There’s no magic pill we can take, so what do we do?
I could tell you to pray, and prayer is really important but, I can also tell you that when I got to that dark place in my life. When I couldn’t see any light, any way out, or any way back from where I was. It wasn’t salvation I was praying for, it was for all the pain to stop. That’s all I wanted.
But what if I told you that God will always give us what we need? And that God never gives any of us more than we can handle. Would you believe me? Now I could probably find different bible verses for you. But, how about I give you some of what God gave me?
First, God said that he will give us what we need. He never said anything about what we wanted. Mainly because what we want is usually the last thing any of us need. God also said that he will never give us more than we can handle. But, God never said we have to handle it alone. The truth is God doesn’t want us to do anything alone. God wants to be a part of everything we do every day. See, what we cannot handle, God can. What we don’t know, God does. What we cannot face, God will. We just have to ask God for what it is he thinks we need, and not what we want. Now you might ask if God knows what I need, why doesn’t he just give it to me? Would you walk up to a perfect stranger and ask them to save your life? So how can any of us be comfortable coming to God, and asking him to save us, if he’s a stranger? God isn’t going to force himself on any of us. But when we ask God to come into our life, and then turn our life over to God, then God stops being a stranger, we become one of his children, and he’s there for us, no matter what. God gave me what I needed, not what I wanted. I just wanted it to end, but God gave me a strong wife and family, and a great friend.
I know God is. I know that Jesus died for my sins and the sins of the world. That he was crucified, and that on the third day he rose again. That he sits at the right hand of God the Father, and that he will return to walk on this earth again. That’s the promise God made to all of us, the promise of salvation through Christ, and that’s where I place my trust. And it’s my trust in God and his promise that gives me hope.
Can I prove God is? Well, standing up and walking again after fourteen years in a wheelchair, pretty much gave me all the proof I needed. But is that faith? Is faith the things we can see? No, faith, is the confidence (the knowing), that what we hope for is going to happen. It’s the evidence of things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1). But faith also requires trust. We have to trust God, and let that trust build hope. Now some people think hope means; to wish for something, or to expect something, but without the certainty, the knowing they’re going to receive it. But for God, hope is a promise, it’s the strong and confident expectation of things that are yet to come. And it’s the trust that his promise will be kept. And that’s where hope rests. If you go out on a clear night and look up at the sky, you can see all kinds of stars. But are those stars still there during the daytime? Even though you can’t see them you know they’re there. Even though I can’t see God, I know he’s there. And that’s faith.
Our faith, that’s a lifeline to God. Hey, I know things aren’t looking really good these days. With everything going on around the world, the wars, disease, death, and destruction. These are all the result of hatred, chaos, confusion, lies, and deceit. And these are the tools satan uses. He uses the evil in people’s hearts to pull us away from each other and from God.
Yes, I said satan. And I’m telling you, that satan and his influence on the world are as real as you and I. Just look around, look at what we’re doing to each other. Look at the things we’re being told by people we used to trust. Some people think that God isn’t real and that satan doesn’t exist, but if satan doesn’t exist, why are so many people working so hard to remove God from our communities, and our lives? Why is worshiping God a crime, but teachings that go against God-protected speech? Satan doesn’t need to physically be here on earth, the world and the governments are doing the work for him. They’re removing God from the world. And that’s been satan’s plan from the beginning. We’ve allowed the government to throw God out of our lives and our country, both of which God created. Satan knows that without hope, faith is harder to hold on to. And without FAITH, what hope do any of us have? Things may look dark, and it may be hard to see the light. But, the best time to see the stars is when it’s the darkest. We need God in our lives, and we need each other. So when the world around you looks like it can’t get any darker, when someone is lost in that dark place, ask God to let his light shine through you, so that everyone can see just how bright he shines.
Hey, I’m Dave – next time I’ll talk about, Truth, and I’ll see you at the Rest Area.
