“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. ” Hebrews 11:1-1 NIV
Over the last eight years, my family has seen some pretty crazy times. From the miraculous birth and adoption of my first child, to the prophetic birth of our second child, to my brother dying and coming miraculously back to life, to a number of different miraculously acquired homes and automobiles and travel stories…we have watched God move in some WILD ways!
I remember after my daughter Cambria was adopted, we had just watched God pull together some of the wildest logistics we’d ever seen. We had people telling us, “This sort of thing NEVER happens.” I confessed to my wife Val, “This is insane Bible-level miraculous stuff we’re seeing. I don’t think I can ever see God’s hand of provision stronger than we’ve just seen. I mean, He reeeeally is in control of everything, isn’t He?!” Watching God orchestrate His plan with such precision was a life-changing boost for our faith. If I only knew how much MORE God was going to show us the next eight years!!!
Recently, my youngest brother, who was also my closest friend, died and went to walk with Jesus. These last few weeks have been some of the saddest days of my life. I’ve felt numb. I’ve felt cold. I’ve felt like a real, physical piece of me is missing somewhere inside my body near my heart. But along with those feelings, I’ve felt an overwhelming sense of hope.
Hope is a peculiar thing, isn’t it? Hope has shown up for me at some pretty unexpected times throughout my life. Hope doesn’t come from us fully understanding what God is doing in our present. And it doesn’t come from us fully realizing what God is going to do in our future. Hope comes from remembering how mightily God has moved in our past!
So future Hope comes from REMEMBERING the past. That’s pretty insane! And oddly cyclical, much like the cycles we find in nature. We can only have hope in our future if for right now in our present we continue to remember our past. Spend some time today (in the present) remembering what God has done in your past, and it’ll change your future outlook. Our stories from our past, our testimonies, are powerful! Sometimes we assume they are for the strengthening of others, but sometimes they’re to strengthen us later down the road.
Challenge
- What has God done in your past that fills you with Hope for the future?
- Will you put down your phone, stop your stream of work-flow and remind yourself right now of the things God has done for you?
- Will you thank Him and let His past faithfulness give you a hope-filled perspective today?
By Joshua Benedict Stock | Summit County, CO