hope vs. faith

“We need to make sure we are not saying “I hope God will do this, I prayed for Him to do it, I know the Word of God says He can and will, but I hope He will.” – That is NOT faith. We do not receive anything from God through hope, it is by faith that we please him and receive from Him."

Sandra Hersey (click quote to read the full article)

Oftentimes, God places people, things and opportunities directly in our pathways but we are too busy seeking things & doing things our way that we walk right past what God has intended for us.

It reminds me the story that I often hear preachers tell:

“While out at sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only one survivor. The man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon after he prayed, a boat came by and offered the man some help.

“No thanks,” he said, “I’m waiting on God to come and save me!”

The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued on their way. A few hours later, another boat came by offering him help. Again, he politely declined their offer.

“It’s okay,” he told them, “God is going to save me.”

The man was beginning to grow more and more concerned as the hours continued to roll by. Soon after, a helicopter appeared in the sky. The man waved them away, yelling to them, “I’m waiting on God! He’s going to save me!”

After some more time had passed, the man began to lose his faith and soon after that, he died. Upon reaching Heaven the man asked God, “Why did you let me die? Why didn’t you answer my prayers? I had faith and I knew you would save me.” God turned to him and said, “Son, I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What else did you want?”

Of course, this is meant to be comedy but the message behind this story is so relevant. We often pray to God to answer our prayers about something in particular – but because we are so set on receiving our “answer” the way that we want it, we miss out on God. It’s important to lean on Holy Spirit for guidance instead of going through life using our own understanding and relying on things to happen based on our own expectations. God knows what’s best for us, which makes it so vital that we learn to recognize his voice. God is faithful… he loves us and yearns to bless us. He’ll strategically place the answers to your prayers right into your path but if we are not in tune with Him, discerning His voice in our lives, then we can end up like the man in this story (figuratively, of course).

“Trust in the Lord & lean not on your own understanding…” I keep referring back to Proverbs 3:5-6… it is one of my favorite scriptures. Trust God, lean on him for understanding & guidance and make it your purpose to stay in His Will for your life – being who He has called you to be, living the life He wants you to live, receiving those blessings that He desires for you to have. When it comes to answered prayers, He has got you so covered.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – Mark 11:24

…just don’t be like the man in this story! God may not always answer us in the way that we want him to but he will always answer with what is best for us. That’s beauty of it.

disappointment or discouragement?

dis·ap·point·ment (d s -point m nt) – (noun)
the feeling of dissatisfaction that results when strongly held expectations are not met

dis·cour·age·ment (d -skûr j-m nt) – (noun)
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles

Disappointments are inevitable – they touch all of our lives. Unfortunately, life is not like BK… we can’t always have it our way. People let us down, things fall through, opportunities might not work out as we intended. However, discouragement sets in when we allow life’s disappointments to make us unmotivated, hopeless and unenthusiastic. Discouragement leads us to question ourselves and to question our faith. Realize that disappointments are going to happen in life but discouragement is a choice. Trusting in God and his faithfulness is the best feeling – knowing that he will never disappoint. Remember that all things in life work together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28). Sometimes we might not understand why things don’t work out or simply why things are the way that they are but rest assured that you can trust in the Lord & that he’s got your back.

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all of your ways and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6

We might not always understand, but God does J Don’t get discouraged when things don’t seem to be going your way, choose to trust in the Lord. He knows what He’s doing and it all will work out in the end. Watch and see! J