Daily Devotional For Thursday, July 25, 2024
Today is Temporary Thursday. It will soon be over and then you will be on to Friday and almost the weekend. Some people tell me that Thursday is their hardest day because the week is almost over and the weekend is almost here. And as the weekend approaches, you probably have things you hoped to have finished or accomplished and possibly over the weekend, you hope you can rest and simply catch your breath.
Hope is powerful. It has been said (I don’t know by who), but it has been said: “We can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.” Hope is necessary for survival and life. The main reason people commit suicide is they lose hope.
Through the years I have heard people say, “I never expect anything, so I’m never disappointed.” That may feel like a safe way to go through life, but it also means you’ll never have any reason to celebrate or be grateful to God. Expectations and hope are good if they’re placed in God’s faithfulness. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV).
When we were children we had dreams and hopes about our future. We hoped we might be a doctor, or astronaut or a policeman or fireman, or lawyer or nurse or teacher, etc. Sometimes these hopes become reality and sometimes they do not. Life doesn't always turn out the way we hope. Every couple who got divorced hoped on the day of their wedding that it was “until death do we part.” Every family who has children hopes their children grow up, get an education, get a good job and are successful. Sometimes, that does not happen.
We all have expectations of ourselves, of each other, our spouse, our children, our co-workers, etc. The Bible says that when Jesus was here He had expectations of the Father. Look at Hebrews 12:2, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne” (TPT).
Hopeful expectation is an important part of every person’s life, and it is a desperate feeling to be without it. For Christians, it is the essence of the faith we have in God—confidence in His ability to save us, in His plans and purposes for us, and our eternity with Him. After all, faith is not confidence in what we are experiencing in the present, but confidence in what He has promised to do in the future.
When it comes to hope, sometimes it is all we have left after what life does to us and throws at us. As you wait, expecting and hoping for the weekend to get here, we have hope for the future because of Jesus Christ. We live in a world that is totally dependent on the senses, overpowered by the sensual and where everything is broken down and dissected by science, medicine and forensics, it is no wonder so many people struggle with hope.
Christian author W.A. Tozer writes this:
“A true Christian feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, … sees the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows that which passeth knowledge” (Source W.A. Tozer, The Roof of The Righteous, p. 189).
In our world where science rules and is the god of this age, a person of faith is an oddity. The more our world puts its hope in science the more skeptical, critical and materialistic it will become and the more foolish the person of faith will seem. Who in their right mind puts faith and hope in Someone they cannot see, in Someone who they cannot hear audibly and in Someone who they trust their life for this life, death and eternity.
Hebrews 11 reads like a condensed verse of biblical history in a Reader’s Digest or journal. The author walks us through people in the Old Testament who hoped, who had faith when all the odds were against them. These were just common men and women who demonstrated some very uncommon faith—a kind of faith that perplexes people today. Yet, their faith was the kind of faith that pleased God (Heb. 11:6) and the kind of faith and hope if we exhibit will please God as well.
The Greek New Testament word translated as “assurance” in Hebrews 11:1 is [ὑπόστασις, hupostasis]. “It refers to the essence or substance of something—that which stands under something as its foundation or support” (Source: Dr. David Allen, The New American Commentary, “Hebrews,” p. 543). The word “assurance” is partnered with the word “conviction” or “evidence.” The Greek New Testament word is [ἔλεγχος, elegchos]. “In secular Greek it referred to “the ‘test’ or ‘trial’ which shows a thing as it really is” (Source: Dr. David Allen, The New American Commentary, “Hebrews,” p. 543).
Pastor and author John MacArthur writes this:
“Faith is not a wistful longing that something may come to pass in an uncertain tomorrow. True faith is an absolute certainty, often of things that the world considers unreal and impossible. Christian hope is belief in God against the world—not belief in the improbable against chance. If we follow a God whose audible voice we have never heard and believe in a Christ whose face we have never seen, we do so because our faith has a reality, a substance, an assurance that is unshakable. In doing so, Jesus said, "We are specially blessed (John 20:29)” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Hebrews,” p. 287).
Faith is necessary to take God at His word regarding life, death, eternity, etc. Faith is required regarding things past and unobservable. It takes faith to trust God’s version of creation more than science. Oh, by the way, for those who believe in evolution, it takes faith to believe in that as well. It takes faith to believe that something came out of nothing. What is nothing? NO-THING. Nothing. Nada. It takes faith for the evolutionist to go against natural laws. For example, one natural law is this: anything left in a given state deteriorates. Meaning it does not evolve in something better or more intelligent.
Here is an example, have you ever noticed the dust on your furniture evolving into something more intelligent? NO. The same is true with our bodies. If we do not take care of them, they do not get better in health, but worse. Faith, hope or expectation is necessary to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith is risky but it is also rewarding. Some view faith as reckless, but in reality, the risk is nil because of the trustworthy character of Jesus Christ. Faith does not need confirmation because it has no doubts in the character of Jesus Christ. God is not only always good; God is always faithful.
Questions To Consider
- When you were a kid, what did you dream or hope you would be or do one day? If that did not occur, how have you dealt with it?
- What is the most challenging aspect to faith for you personally and why?
- People have all kinds of expectations of God and when He does not meet their expectations, they walk away from Him claiming He is impotent and a liar. What would you say to such a person?
- Why is faith in Jesus Christ not reckless to you?
- What are the risks of faith for you and how do you handle those risks personally?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (ESV).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, there are times life is tough and challenging. But I will trust You, have faith in You because while life is unpredictable, You are credible. I know Your character and I know You. When I have doubts, help my unbelief Lord. When I struggle, give me strength. When I wander, draw me back to You. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly