Today we’re talking about Hebrews 11:1. It’s a scripture verse that I’m sure many of you have heard and you’ve heard for the most of your walk of faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
What a powerful verse. Right there, faith and hope are married; they are tied together. In Greek, the word used for faith is “hupostatsis,” which means “foundation.” Faith is a substance, a foundation. The word “foundation” would be the most simplistic translation of “faith.”
Faith is the foundation of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. We all struggle in life. We’ve been betrayed by someone, a family member or by a coworker at work. Let’s say you don’t know what you’re going to do with your job or your marriage. You’ve really come under the gun in a number of ways. You don’t see a way out, a solution, or how things can turn from the bad to the good. At those points is where hope comes in. Hope is, in essence, believing in what you don’t see.
Right now, most of us are at home, quarantined because of COVID 19. We are spending a lot more time at home than usual. We probably have more free time on our hands at home than before. Pick up a book. Why? Pick up a book that will challenge your framework on hope, that will encourage you to hope. Read The Power of One, or the Bible. For intellectuals I would recommend Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a brilliant, brilliant writer. Dostoyevsky essentially wrote about how faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. He saw how true faith is tied to hope. Humans need to believe in something good ahead that we can’t always see.
Right now we’re in Holy Week; it’s Good Friday. What a symbolic day! Christ was going to the cross as people watched. There was a lot of lost hope. What would happen? What would the future hold? They had many questions.
What are you hoping for? What are you struggling with? If you don’t want to read and you’ve got a lot of time at home watch a movie, watch the Pursuit of Happiness with Will Smith and filmed in 2006. Watch The Help, Hidden Figures, or Goodwill Hunting. Watch something that the Holy Spirit can use to speak to you to build your hope and allow you to start believing that good things are coming to you.
Hope is a practice, a habit. Habits take 30 days or more to form. Hope is a habit that you choose on a daily basis. It’s a framework and a frame of mind that you choose. Continue to press in, and believe that something good is coming to you no matter what you see around you today.