What is Faith?

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen;
it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Hebrews 11:1, New Living Translation

Comments

[Susan Reinfeldt]

It is the "confidence" part that gets me every time. I can hope for things but how am I to be confident that what I hope for is in keeping with the Lord's plan for my life. I reconcil this by remembering to have confidence in the Lord, not myself so much. Some wise Dutch woman once told me that what we "hope for" will not always happen in our lifetime but it does not mean it will never happen.

[Henriet Schapelhouman]

Hi Susan, Thanks for the excellent comment. I can understand the struggle with the "confidence" part of this verse. Sometimes it's hard to know what is just our wish and what is the hope inspired by the Spirit. I've learned, over the last difficult years, that my hope is in Jesus - only. This translates into everything. Very often what I had planned does not happen but I'm confident that what He has planned is exactly happening. Even if I chafe at it because it wasn't my script. I'm still learning that faith and hope truly are day by day.