02/19/2020
A Thought from Bob Fraser's desk: “God, what if….?”
God, what if You helped me get a better job? What if You helped me be a better father? What if I could get out from under this financial stress? What if You made my life one of impact? Have you ever had a hope that maybe God could do something that wasn’t yet a reality, but you had the desire and thought, why not me?
I want to talk a bit about hope and it’s role in our lives. The Bible says faith is the substance of things HOPED for (Heb 11). I actually call it “pre-faith” and it is key to us receiving God’s great plans for us. If we don’t have true biblical hope, we will not have faith.
Remember when Jesus was leaving Jericho and was surrounded by a crowd. He heard someone calling out saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10). A blind man, Bartimaeus, had a hope. He had heard about Jesus and how He healed people. He didn’t know if he might get healed, but he had enough hope to think, why not me? Thus he continued crying out boldly until Jesus stopped and asked him what he wanted. When he told Jesus he wanted to see, Jesus replied and said, “Go, your faith has made you well.” Jesus spoke and faith arose. Bartimaeus went from HOPE to FAITH to HEALED EYESIGHT! It is a wonderful story still today. But think with me for a moment what would have happened if Bartimaeus hadn’t had a hope that Jesus could possibly help him? Nothing. Nothing would have happened. Jesus would have passed on by with the crowd surrounding him and Bartimaeus would have remained a blind beggar.
Think too about Peter when he was in the boat waiting for Jesus to come to them after He went alone to pray (Matt. 14). Then in the middle of the night – here comes Jesus walking on the water. How cool! Peter could have thought, “Must be nice to be Jesus.” But there was something more growing in Peter. It was a HOPE of why not me? He started hoping so much that he called out to Jesus and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And we all know what Jesus said back – Come! Jesus spoke and faith arose. Peter went from HOPE to FAITH to WALKING ON THE WATER! But again, what if Peter had no hope that he too could do just what Jesus did? He would have stayed in the boat with no great adventure to share or lesson to tell his friends.
So you can see how important the role of hope is in our journey of faith. Hope is pre-faith, or the soil where true faith can grow. Hope is not like unfounded optimism, like ‘I hope I win the lottery’ or ‘I hope I go to Europe’. True hope is based in the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was good and that He healed people and that He cared. Because of this knowledge of who God is, his hope grew, then became faith when Jesus spoke, and then he was healed.
Same with Peter. Peter knew Jesus was his friend, who responded when Peter asked Him things, who loved to share His life with Peter. Thus Peter had hope based in who He knew Jesus to be – a present, available, listening Friend. It allowed hope to well up, which became faith when Jesus spoke, and gave Peter a great testimony.
We all want to see the Lord move in our lives and in those around us. We may want a better job, or to be a better parent, or make a greater impact. But we must have hope in who God is first. If we really know Him as the abundantly available God, the providing God, the kind and caring God, the always-present God, we will begin to see how much He is for us and ask why not me. We will see how much He wants to help us and bless us and use us. Our hope in who God is will grow mightily, allowing a rich and fertile soil to be ready in our hearts for when He speaks. Let’s press in to know the Lord and allow our hope to grow in 2020!
