March 12

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for… Hebrews 11:1

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🔊 There is a vital connection between faith and hope.  Hope is the seedbed of faith.  When hope stirs in our heart, faith will soon come.  Hope is the hand that reaches out to grasp God’s extended hand, and faith lays hold of it.  We cannot bypass hope as if it were a lesser thing.  It is a God-given stirring of our heart that dares to see things that are not yet seen.  You may not be able to believe that someone who is far from God may come to know Him, or that an impossible situation may be solved.  But dare to think it – allow the Holy Spirit to make you dream, and see things that are afar off.  The Holy Spirit gives dreams and visions, not to tease, but to stir our hearts to co-operate with God in the creation of a new humanity.  God speaks to our hearts, and we must receive His word as the transforming power that it is.  God first gives hope, and then, as hope is nourished, faith rises and takes hold of God for that thing.  It will happen as surely as a tender plant reaches out to the sun.  There are laws in spiritual life, and this is one of them.  So nourish your heart in hope, dare to dream and think the impossible, and turn your dreams into prayer before God’s throne.