In Previous blogs, I have described to you the definition of faith and talked about its power and how HOPE must precede faith. but what do you do when you feel that all hope is gone? Without hope there can be no faith, it is a two step program. You must first have hope and then follow with faith. But what of the times when you reach a point in your life when you feel that hope has abandoned you?
This is a question that haunts me and many others I am sure. We all face "hopeless" situations on occasions and that makes the opportunity for us to grab hold of that title deed of faith impossible. That is a part of the reason for this blog on faith building. We must learn to "hope against hope" as the expression goes and dig deep to find that supernatural power that lurks inside of all of us.
The Lord God created us in His image, and in that image we are given a set of tools to work with whether we are aware of them or not...they do exist. When things around you seem hopeless you have two choices, you can give into the storm and allow Satan, the adversary to have his way and steal away your right to your copy of that Title Deed we have been speaking about, or you can shut out all the clatter and noise and dissenters and go into your "prayer closet" and pour out your heart to God in prayer. You can tell Him of all the hurt and disappointment and the many reasons for which you have lost hope and ASK Him to give you a new measure of faith, which He will. Or you can say "things are what they are and nothing can change them" taking away the power of God in your life to give you the title deed to the things you hope for. Now let me qualify that statement by saying that God is a polite God He never forces Himself or His ways on you, He stands at the door and knocks, He does not open the door and come in on His own. That decision is yours. He has the power and offers it to you, but you must ask for Him to intervene and use that power. It is your choice.
Prayer is a two way conversation, first we make known our needs to God, and then we listen. Listening it is an active form of watching, waiting and expecting signs and wonders. We may not hear an audible voice in answer to our prayers, it may come as a scripture from God's LIVING word, it may come in the form of a statement from another human being who is unwittingly being used by the will of God to answer the questions of your heart. It may come from experiencing a happening to someone around you or to yourself, but rest assured, God does answer. When you learn that God is listening and answering you then you will find that hope will spring eternal. Once you are back on the Hope road then the things that you have hope for are once again within your grasp.
God knows how easily discouraged we become and there are so many examples in His word that show that He knows that we lose hope, but he encourages us to "fear not" and to trust in Him with all or our hearts and "lean not upon our own understanding". He goes on to say that if will just "acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct our paths!" Now we all know that it isn't easy to ignore all the storms and blocks that Satan throws in our pathways for the one purpose of dashing our hopes and destroying our ability to gain faith...the title deed, the ownership to those things that we hope for. That is his job, to kill, steal and destroy. He kills out our hopes, he steals away our spiritual reasoning and destroys our faith whenever and however he can. But if you watch the world around you and you see people accomplishing the "impossible" then you have to remember that the devil only has the amount of power that you yourself give to him.
So many people foolishly think that God and Satan are rivals and equals, but remember God is the creator and Satan merely the created. They are in no more equal in power that you are to God. But God says that we are created in His image, giving us a special power to emulate Him in every way.
The Word says that the devil is like a roaring lion, roaming the earth seeking whom he can devour. Now think about that for a moment. If he was capable of roaring and devouring whomever he desired, then no one would be safe from the clutches of this demonic force. But because he is seeking whom he can devour it leaves us to believe that it is not up to Satan whom he can devour, or he would be devouring us all. Hope which leads to faith is our key to staying off the menu. Knowing that it is up to us gives us a tool to fight off the devil and his minions when they are seeking out those who are weak. We are told that if we resist the devil he will flee from us. Now at one time I looked up the word "flee" and it said to run away as in terror. We can terrorize the devil and make him run away simply by resisting him. We can also "plead the blood of Jesus" over our situation which horrifies the devil as he knows that the blood of Jesus saves us all. It is the one thing that he cannot undo or interfere with where we are concerned. Once we have accepted the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, and confessed Him as our saviour, we are protected under that blood. We are the children of the most high God, the King of the Universe, the creator of all things. This entitles us to come boldly into His presence and to make known all our earthly and spiritual desires through the act of prayer. So when things seem hopeless, when you can't find the hope inside you that you need to grab hold of faith, go to your Father, your daddy, and pour out your heart to Him. By doing this simple thing and asking Him to intercede for you and to give you hope and increase your faith, you will find that spark that will ignite your hope and increase your faith and bring you the desires of your heart.
Knowing that you have a Father who truly cares about everything that happens to you and who knows you so intimately that He has every hair on your head numbered should bring you comfort in a time of hopelessness. Add to that that He is the creator of all things and is in total control of all things and alone has the power to reverse or alter the laws of nature, reverse the ravages of disease, raise the dead, and perform miracles of every kind, and ask yourself, "where else would I go when I am in need of hope?"
When it seems that all hope is gone, take your fears and your needs to the throne room of God and lay them all down. The Lord said "roll all your cares upon me because I care for you." That is an open invitation to bring all your cares to Him at anytime and expect that He will help you in every situation.
If that doesn't bring you hope, then I don't know what can. Just knowing that you are the child of the King of the Universe and the Most High God and that He has asked you to bring all your problems to Him and He will take care of them should be enough for anyone. Just remember that He has also said "you have not because you asked not", so it is completely up to you to go to Him and ask for what you need.
Find your hope in Him, and once you have found that hope you are on the way to finding the faith...that title deed to that thing that you are hoping for.
So many of us have faltered along the way and forgotten all that we know about going to our Father for help, and we have stumbled and fallen more times than we can count, but practice makes perfect, and it isn't the number of times that we fall down that God is interested in, but the number of times that we get back up. So losing hope is just stumbling and falling down, but prayer will lift you back up onto your feet where you can continue on to hope and faith...the title deed to the things you desire and hope for.
God bless you all, and remember that when things look the darkest it is just before the dawn, and that Jesus is the light of the world. He is there to light up your life with hope and faith and blessings beyond all that you could ever dream or imagine. All you ever have to do is follow that formula...ask and receive, hope and have faith. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and resist the ploys of the devil and so long as you continue to acknowledge God in all your ways, He will direct your path!
Keep the faith my brothers and sisters!
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