Faith and hope

For some reason I have been wanting to post more. I just do it whenever I feel like it, and I think it is because I have been running in to really amazing things lately (like the article from yesterday). Well, I am in a New Testament class, and we were studying Hebrew 11, which I am sure you all know is a chapter on faith. Well last night, I was in a "hope" slump, questioning promises (BAD girl!!) and scared that we would ever be blessed with children. Last night it seemed like all the tests, studies, information on miscarriage etc. basically told me (of course, this is what I felt like they were telling me late at night, during a weak moment...) I was a hopeless case. I finally just made myself go to sleep, because it wasn't productive and probably really unproductive to think that way, praying for help (and forgiveness for questioning blessings...) until I was finally asleep.

Today, as I was doing my homework on this section and read some of my professors lecture, I feel like my prayers were answered.

"What is faith? To render Paul's words a little differently but more accurately according to the Greek text, and to emphasize the insight from the JST, it is the assurance (the firm foundation) of what we hope for; it is the solid conviction that we will receive blessings promised to us.

Paul's examples show that great men and women of old had nothing but God's promises to rest on. Outside of this, they had not a single thread of proof that any of the blessings would ever be fulfilled. Abraham lived in a tent all his days as did his sons and grandsons. Outward evidence suggested that God's promise of giving the land to Abraham might not be kept. Yet such trust and confidence did the ancient Saints have that they directed the whole course of their lives toward receiving the promises. All the promises related to the future, but the faithful acted as if they were already present.

What Paul said was that faith is simply taking God at his word and acting accordingly. Things that were yet future to them and are history to us were present to their eyes of faith. One could say, then, that faith gives substance to our hopes; it makes them become reality.

Faith is the principle of action in both God and man. There is a higher faith in God, which is the principle of action in all intelligent beings. So Paul noted that, "Through faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God" (Heb. 11:3).

Inseparably sealed to faith is hope. In a way, hope precedes faith and drives it (Moro. 7:40). When there is no hope that one can get something desired, there is no action, and thus, there is no faith. But when there is hope and high desire, great energy can be expended and the prize can be won.

Saving hope must center in the Savior (Ps. 31:24; 42:5, 11; 43:5; 146:5). Its drive moves one toward salvation in the kingdom of God (Lam. 3:21; Acts 24:15; Rom. 8:24-25;Heb. 11:1; Col. 1:5, 23), and without hope, the driving force, there can be no salvation. Speaking to the Lord, Moroni said, ". . . thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared" (Ether 12:32)."

So there is my answer. I must hope and be as those before me, and even when everyone is saying contrary to my promises, I need to have hope and therefore faith in my Savior. It's that simple, but yet so hard. One day I have it, and I feel like my hope is there despite what anyone tells me (like "maybe you aren't suppose to have kids?" and blah blah blah). But then other times, like last night, my hope was gone. I guess that is what this trial is all about. This is probably something I need to learn, and hopefully one day I will get it.

Now with restored strength in my hope, I am going to indulge in one of my simple pleasures and listen to some of my favorite music and make dinner for my wonderful hubby. :)