Hope: The Heart of Faith

Reflection Thoughts:

Begin by reading or writing the Reflection Scripture:

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1Peter 1:8-9 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Images flood our life every moment of everyday. If our eyes are open, we are seeing something. But hope is unseen: the gift tucked in a wrapped box, a baby growing in a mother’s womb, a seed splitting wide under the earth.

What unseen thing have you been hoping for?

Imagine it coming to fruition. What does it look like? feel like? Where is God in the midst of it all?

What have you experienced of the unseen God and His promises which have bolstered your hope and increased your faith?

Take a moment to imagine. Consider the outcome of the saving of your soul as you ponder these lyrics:

I can only imagine what it will be like

When I walk by your side

I can only imagine what my eyes will see

When your face is before me

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for You Jesus?

Or in awe of You be still?

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

–Bart Marshall Millard

This is hope. In our blindness we do not see fully, yet we believe. Hope fuels our desire to see the outcome of the faith He has placed in our hearts.

Ask Him to prepare your heart to cling tight to hope, to trust His promises, so your faith will be unshakable.

Day 2:

Read 2Corinthians 4:13-18

What do we have according to what has been written in the Old Testament?

Read Psalm 116

Psalm 116 is the source of the phrase quoted in 2Corinthians: I believed and so I spoke. What similarities do you see in the two passages?

What is the right perspective to take when it comes to faith? How is hope revealed in believing faith? What are the assurances of hope in these passages?

How are you when it comes to focusing on the unseen vs the seen? Explain.