The Ingredients of Hope

Hope is a lifestyle word. There is no satisfaction of life without hope. Hope is the one cord that binds mankind to survivability. As long as we have hope we can master any trial of life. If we lose hope, we are like a ship without an anchor in a ceaseless storm. Suicide, drugs, alcohol, and other destructive dependencies or actions are often the only escape for a hopeless person. The farther any society moves from the Holy Bible and its promises, the greater is the frequency of hopelessness.

The Bible says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is a double word with a double connection. It is “the faith” or the truths, revelations, wisdom, and thoughts of God. When we say, “I am a person of faith,” we are saying that we believe the Bible and live by its truths. But faith is also an expression of our confidence in the Bible. To know the Bible is to know truth, but to believe and trust our life to the Bible is to know faith. The two must always be a part of each other or our faith is dysfunctional.

Every part of life that has meaning is the result of its substance or ingredients. It takes flour, shortening, and milk to make homemade biscuits. These three ingredients, or substances, are imperative for the proper results. “Faith” is the substance, or ingredient, of hope. It is from what hope is made. This is true in a great marriage, in the home, the marketplace, or in your profession. When a husband and wife lose hope that their marriage can survive, the result is usually divorce. Children raised in a dysfunctional family often lose hope and resort to a life of drugs, immorality and even suicide. Hope is the cord of human survivability.

There is no situation too desperate for faith and hope to change. The truth of God, and faith in that truth, is the answer to your worst nightmare. The broken marriage can become a honeymoon. The dysfunctional home can become a haven. The failing business, if it is a viable business, can survive the dark days or you can find direction to the right business. Drug addiction, alcohol, or any habitual behavior can be totally broken and your life put back together. The answer is found in the ingredients of faith that creates hope. You cannot repair the marriage until you have faith in each other. Hope is impossible without faith. You cannot change your life until something is added or changed that gives you faith and hope.

Faith and hope is the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the whole of the Bible. Consider Rahab the harlot living in the walls of a city about to be destroyed. She found hope in a scarlet cord of faith hung from the window of her apartment. The city fell, but her apartment was saved. It was a supernatural deliverance. The Bible is supernatural and every word is powerful to deliver. The Bible faith and your faith in this incredible and miraculous book will flood your soul with hope. You cannot trust God and not get His response. Hope is a spiritual emotion that will explode in joy once it is fed with truth. Fill your heart with the truth of our Biblical faith, and let your faith rest in that truth, and hope will blossom.