I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living

This verse from Psalm 27:13 that I quoted in a recent post came back to me again this morning. It was in the context of the post about waiting on the Lord. I always knew that the first verse of my life verses (Psalm 40:1–3) were my instructions. I knew He was telling me I would need to wait patiently on Him!

It must be several years ago now, that the Lord asked me “So you knew that your instructions were to wait patiently, did you wait patiently?” Well, I could say that I had waited, I had no choice, but as to waiting patiently, that was an entirely different matter!

The period between receiving a promise, and its fulfillment is a difficult but important time. It is difficult, because it stretches your faith. It is important, because it is in choosing to wait patiently that the growth occurs. The question comes over and over "Will I believe in spite of all the circumstances that point to the impossibility of the fulfillment of the promise?" So I chose to believe that what He had promised He would fulfill. But it’s not because it looked like a distinct possibility. On the contrary it looked, and to some extent still does, look impossible. But we have a God who calls things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17).

I have wanted to give up on my promise many times over the years, but He has always done something to encourage me to continue to believe. Indeed I would have lost heart had He not done this! Yes the ultimate hope is in the hereafter, but He encourages us to pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done in the here and now." Thank you Jesus!

There is a deep connection between faith and hope, that I do not yet fully understand. But this morning I am starting to ask Him about it in Jesus Name Amen