Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is required for you to live the kind of life you want. 1 John 5:4 (NLT) says, For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. It is faith that causes us to overcome. According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is being fully persuaded. It is having an immovable belief that comes from the heart. How do you learn to have that kind of faith? First you need hope.
Hope is not the same as faith-it is more like a precursor. We build on hope to have faith. According to its biblical definition, hope is a confident expectation. When you expect something, you are looking forward to it happening in the future. You expect change to come. Maybe you hope your health will improve one day or you hope that your financial situation will stabilize.
Hope only expects something to happen sometime in the future. Faith believes the promise is yours now. Hope is a vital step, however. When you meditate on God’s Word, hope begins to form. You find out that God promises you health so you hope for it to happen. There isn’t yet a confident belief that your healing is done and finished, but you’re on your way. In some areas of my life right now, I know that I’m not yet in faith but I’m hoping. Hope will get me there if I continually meditate on the Word looking for evidence that will help solidify this hope into faith.
Don’t mistake hope for faith. If you are still hoping, you will become frustrated that you aren’t experiencing God’s promise and might want to give up. Stick with it a bit longer and reach faith!