Anchor

 

Since my last blog, I have taken some time to reflect on the things that have been put on my heart and mind to accomplish. The plan forward for my life and the direction that I am going. I am not going to get into the specifics but some of the things that God is leading me to feel impossible and really outside my control. A part is something familiar but impossible to achieve on my own, beyond that are things that are outside what I know. Some of this comes with a lot of criticism and resistance. I have spoken previously about waiting being a period of preparation. That is where I have been right now. 

The Bible talks about harvesting crops as a metaphor for this waiting period and God's blessing. Planting season and harvesting season. It takes 4 months for crops to grow and be ready. So what happens while we wait? What if we don’t see the fruit of our labor? The Bible says Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is the tree of life. So if our desires go unfulfilled do we lose hope? Do we give up? Did God lie, or change His mind? The Bible says God cannot lie and he never changes His mind. I have overused my favorite verse Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The Word also says, “In their hearts, man plans his course, but the LORD establishes his steps.” AND when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our heart. God gives us desires and dreams. When those dreams are aligned with Him in the right time they will happen. How do we delight ourselves in Lord and see the desires of our hearts? That has been a question for me personally. Searching for an answer, this verse hit me: “And these three remain, faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love.”  

So, today,  I want to look at the concept of faith hope, and love

Faith

Faith is defined in Hebrews as confidence in what we HOPE for and assurance of what we do not see. This is a hard one. God put this desire and plan in our mind but when there is no evidence to show that anything is happening, it is extremely hard to be patient. This is when second-guessing starts to happen. “Is that really what I am supposed to be doing? It’s impossible. Maybe, I will do something else. If God wanted it for me it would just happen.” This is where we start to drift off course. However, as the verse says, faith is confidence in what we hope for. What is hope?

Hope

Romans says that hope is the anchor for our soul. An anchor keeps a ship in one spot and from drifting away. It goes down to the bottom of the ocean, out of sight and holds the ship in place even in a storm. Hope is what keeps us from giving up or from drifting off in another direction. This is the dream. It is the end result. The job, the restoration, the relationship, the family. It is what we are working towards. When it comes from God, it is our perfect plan and His promise. This is what answers those questions of faith. “Is this really God’s plan?” Yes, and hope is the motivation to keep going. It's finding what your soul loves, and anchoring to it.

Love

How does love tie into this? If you remember, God is love. We can have faith and hope, but without God it is impossible. In the Armor of God series, I repeatedly referenced Colossians 3:14 which says love binds everything together in perfect harmony. This would be like the rope that ties the boat to the anchor; hope to faith. God ties us to His plan and purpose through love.

 

One thing that I have come to realize in my study of the Bible is that almost everything is interdependent on something else. Nothing works by itself. The Bible likes to use threes. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Another example is relationships. Man and woman. Well, that's only two. The Bible says two are better than one but a three-stranded cord will not break. That's because God is the third strand. This means being intertwined with each other and intertwined with God to create an unbreakable relationship. I digress, another set of three that is interdependent with each other is faith, hope, and love. So in the same way man and woman need to be intertwined with each other, they individually need to be intertwined with God; faith with hope, hope with love, and love with faith. 

Faith and Hope

Faith strengthens hope. Having a firm belief in God’s promises makes the outlook hopeful. Trusting the fact that God will fulfill what He said. Without faith, hope becomes uncertain. Just like an anchor without a rope.

Hope and Love

Hope inspires love. Having a confident expectation of God’s goodness and future promises brings love. Hope causes love to break through. In this, love can be expressed through kindness, and selfless sacrifice, which reflects God’s love. God is still love, so hope is strengthened by God.

Love and Faith

Love is the expression of faith. The Bible says “genuine faith manifests itself through love”. Faith isn’t simply a wish. It requires action. This action is demonstrated in love through compassion, kindness and selflessness. Again, God is love, so God is in faith.

Remembering that the greatest of these is love, let's back up and read what love is. If you read my Valentine's Day post or have ever been to a wedding, you know “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” 

When in the waiting or not seeing the harvest come look to love. Are these habits being demonstrated? How will they be demonstrated when the dreams and desires are fulfilled? I know I am hammering this point, but God is love. So God is patient, God is kind. So when we demonstrate these things we are a reflection of God. This is delighting ourselves in God and allowing Him to give us the desires of our hearts. 

For me, I am waiting. I am looking to the impossible. I have a big dream. It starts and ends with love. I am delighting myself in Him and I know that my growth season will soon produce a fruitful harvest. I have been re-ignited, restoration will happen. Love will abound and not fail. In faith, I have hope and confidence I will accomplish the dreams He has given me according to His plans and purpose, knowing He is preparing all the parts that I cannot see.

Don't let your heart be sick if hope is deferred. Walk in Faith, anchor your soul in Hope, Dare to Love and the dreams will be fulfilled.