You cannot have faith without hope. You cannot have hope without faith!
Think about it… these two are inextricably entwined. The very nature of having faith inspires hope! All is not lost, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The very nature of hope requires that you have faith… faith that what you are presently enduring is temporal, good things are coming!
Faith is a belief, or confidence, in something or someone. Hope is an expectation of better.
Faith and hope pair up to create a pathway to joy! I’ve experienced this over and over in my life. Whether you value faith or not, I cannot share pathways to joy with you without spending time sharing how faith has impacted my journey.
A popular song in worship these days is called The Goodness of God. This song deeply moves me. It celebrates God’s goodness amidst all my ups and downs: life and death, hurts and healings, gains and losses, success and failures. I can’t help but sing with abandonment:
“All my life you have been faithful, All my life you’ve been so, so good, With every breath that I am able, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God!”1
You might read that and think, “Joy, you have no idea what I’ve experienced. I can’t possibly sing those lines and believe it.” You’re right, I don’t know what you’ve been through. You may be still dealing with dredges of pain that I can’t imagine. Even if I’ve experienced what you have, your journey is your own.
Let me share how I’m able to declare that God has been faithful to me in spite of painful times. It’s in the lyrics: “With my life laid down, I surrender now, I give you everything.”1 You see, I choose to submit everything I’ve experienced, the difficult things I’ve endured, to the Lord and His purposes. This is where faith and hope come in!
- I have faith that God will cause everything to work together for my good because I love Him and have an amazing destiny! (Romans 8:28)
- I have hope that God can bring good out of what the enemy designed for evil in my circumstances! (Jeremiah 29:11, Genesis 50:20)
It’s all about perspective. When we set our difficult journey within the framework of divine goodness, we can believe that our lives are a tapestry in which the threads of all we experience are woven together to create a masterpiece of beauty called our life.
“But Joy, how can this loving God allow terrible things to happen to us?” This valid question has been asked through the centuries. People have written books on it.2 I will not attempt to answer it here, but will share this simple truth: humans have free will to choose their actions! When God created Adam and Eve, He said, “Let them have dominion over the earth.” He gave us the opportunity to govern ourselves (as well as animals and nature). Why didn’t God stop Eve from talking to satan or eating the fruit that was off limits? If He had, would she have had free will? Nope… He would have overridden His own law by stopping her free will.
So, why do terrible things happen in the world? Because you and I, as well as all the people who affect us, have free will.
This is why faith is important! When we have faith that He is a good God that loves us, we invite Him into our lives and circumstances and give Him permission to intervene on our behalf! It doesn’t mean we have life without pain or sickness, but it does mean that He will cause goodness to be the theme of our lives! That is faith that breeds unstoppable hope, resulting in incredible joy!
Let me go a bit deeper… I don’t just have faith in God… I TRUST God! I trust that He has good plans for me. I trust that He created me amazing. I trust that He loves my family more than I can imagine. I trust that He will never leave me or abandon me. I trust that His Word is true! I trust Him as a Father and Friend. There are times that my journey has been unbearable, yet I’ve come through on the other side! He has proven Himself to me over and over! What joy I have found in my faith! Hope rises up in me when I meditate on His goodness!
If you haven’t considered yourself a person of faith, this may have been a difficult read for you. I hope that you will explore the Word of God and ask Him to show up in your circumstances! I pray that you will encounter His goodness and come to know that He has been there all along, crying with you in the painful times, sharing your laughter, and celebrating your successes.
I would love to pray with you if you want to start your faith journey or need encouragement in it. Drop me a comment with your email and I will connect with you!
Live loved,
1Lyrics from Goodness of God, Bethel Music, Written by Jenn Johnson / Ed Cash / Jason Ingram / Ben Fielding / Brian Johnson
2Where is God When it Hurts? Philip Yancey, When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner are two books you can explore.