Hope: A Courageous Journey of FaithSample

DEVOTIONAL - TODAY'S DISCUSSION Faith is a gift from God.  It is action oriented, where salvation can only come through belief and acceptance of God's son Jesus Christ.  We as Christians draw strength from Him and are called to walk according to His will.  In  our darkest hours, faith is given to us by God as we glorify Him through our trials and tribulations.  Faith is invisible, but seen in our actions.  As we walk according to God's will, He builds our faith like a mountain.  The more we obey, the more He gives.  It is difficult to wrap our human minds around God's plan.  This is only for Him to know as we cannot see what He sees, that is why He gives us faith.  In our darkest hours, His treasure is found and He is glorified through the faith we present to the world by our obedience. FROM "TAYLOR'S GIFT" THE BOOK "In the hospital in Grand Junction, Todd had promised to be my rock. And he had been. I marveled at his strength. There was only one way to explain it—it was the work of the Holy Spirit."  I often imagined the Holy Spirit swirling around Todd and protecting him. How else did he have the capacity to handle the things he handled? How else could he juggle simple but overwhelming tasks, like answering the hundreds of emails that poured in? Or more complex things, like taking care of a wife who was totally incapacitated and always on the verge of losing it? Without help from God, how else could he deal with setbacks when his own loss was so fresh?  I thought about Pam Cope saying we were handpicked for this. Who were we to be chosen? But aren’t we all chosen for something? We had a choice. We could follow God’s leading, or we could strike out on our own. We could curl up in grief and shut everyone out, or we could stay the course, even when it got hard—even when there seemed to be no end to the pain.  “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1 NIV). Faith was belief without proof. Though I didn’t have evidence, I believed that one day in the future, the pain would get easier. I also believed there was a place where Taylor waited for me—and I had faith that in that place all pain would be gone. TODAY'S REFLECTIONS What source do you draw strength from in your dark hours?  Who do you FIRST turn to when times are difficult or seem impossible?  Pray for God to strengthen you and give you the faith you need to make it through your circumstances.