THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND HOPE

MONDAY, 19TH MAY, 2025

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND HOPE – Pastor Chris

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith is the essence, the title deed of things hoped for. Hope is usually in the future; it is something you look forward to, something you desire that’s not yet realized. It’s a picture of the future or an image of a desired outcome, accomplishment, possession, or fulfilment. So, hope is important as it precedes faith.

Faith, on the other hand, is the essence of hope. Hope is foundational for faith to operate. Without hope, faith has no substance, no life. The Bible tells us that these three abide: faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). While it emphasizes that love is the greatest, it also shows the indispensable nature of all three. These elements—faith, hope, and love—are unique to us as part of our God-given nature.

Hope is critical because it sustains us, keeping us connected to the future. It is the picture, the image that faith gives substance to. When you can see it in hope, faith makes it real. The relationship between faith and hope is beautifully illustrated through the concept of wave-particle duality in quantum physics. Experiments in quantum mechanics reveal that subatomic particles, when unobserved, exist as waves. However, when observed, the wave collapses into a particle, forming matter.

This phenomenon parallels the operation of faith and hope. Hope is the potential energy—the wave, the possibility. When you focus on it, when you observe it through faith, it collapses into matter. It becomes real. The Bible already explained this reality. It shows us that hope must precede faith.

Hope provides the picture, and faith transforms that potential into a tangible reality. Without hope, faith has nothing to act upon. When you have hope, you possess the possibility of what can be realized and faith activates it, turning that which was hitherto intangible into substance.

          PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for the three creative elements: faith, hope, and love. I set my heart on the vision of your Word, stirring hope in my heart for a greater and brighter future; my faith is alive and active; it brings every possibility to reality. My faith is active, producing results and materializing every promise in my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY
Romans 8:24-25
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it].

Mark 9:23
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

1-Year Bible Reading Plan: John 8:48-59 & 2 Kings 1-3

2-Year Bible Reading Plan: Mark 11:12-26 & Numbers 22