I am so excited to share a revelation that I received from the Holy Spirit yesterday morning as I lay on my bed. I prepared a different article almost a week ago to post today, but after a confirmation late last night, I decided to share this instead.
On Friday night, as I was preparing for bed I was talking to my husband saying that as believers we should know that God has victory and success on the other side of a difficulty that we are facing. I said so, based on my own experience of God working things out for me. In the past, I recalled getting so worked up over the outcome of something (and I still do sometimes, work in progress!) and when that thing eventually worked out, I would look back and say “Wow! God had been working it out all along.”
Why can’t we just skip the stress and tumult of the present difficulty and remember, right in the midst of the issue, that we are sure to get what we desire when we trust in and wait on God. We should know that the end of that thing is already determined since God has already guaranteed the outcome. The source of our frustration though, or at least my frustration, was the period of delay or waiting to receive the breakthrough or success. Sometimes I was even guilty of not whole heartedly believing that I would receive that thing, which frankly, was already worked out in my favour.
Now, we must tell ourselves that it is done and act like it is done; riding the waves of life with confidence knowing that you will be successful. I said to him that we ought to be so done with the interim stress, as the outcome was already sure and secure.
I woke up the following morning with the same thoughts and then this scripture began whirling around in my head…
Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)
As I continued to meditate on this short but powerful verse and as I turned it around in my head, enquiring about why it was so strongly on my mind, so early in the morning; the Holy Spirit started to break it down and revealed some mind-blowing TRUTHS!
I will do my best to convey it, just as I received.
Faith in Conception
The substance of things hoped for …
Substance - means essence, core, the thing that gives meaning/definition to another thing.
We all Hope, Dream and have Desires.
If Faith is the substance of the things that we hope for, then Faith is the essence or core of every single hope and dream.
To illustrate - Can a thing be defined as salt if it has no flavour? The essence, the core, the defining/ distinguishing characteristic of salt, when compared to baking powder for example, is its flavour. Salt minus flavour, may just as well be white dust.
Likewise, without Faith, a dream or hope cannot be characterised as such, it will instead just be a thought or an idea. When Faith is incorporated, it transforms a mere idea into a hope, dream or desire. One may often hear persons use the words Hope and Faith interchangeably, but they are not the same. The scripture says that Faith is the substance of Hope, in other words, it is the catalyst for all hopes and desires. Still, put another way, Faith is what creates hopes and dreams.
Every person on earth who has ever hoped for or dreamed or desired anything, has at the core of that desire – Faith.
FAITH is the prerequisite for the creation of every hope or dream; it is the active ingredient that is needed to formulate every desire.
Faith as Outcome
The evidence of things not seen
Hopes, Dreams and Desires are all futuristic.
FAITH is (present tense/today), the actual evidence/proof of what we do not yet have.
Faith is evidence; Faith is the Fact; Faith is the Proof.
The proof that we will receive what we desire is not in the fulfilled dream, it is your Faith.
To illustrate - As an attorney, I am pretty familiar with the words evidence and proof. Evidence is brought in a court to support or denounce a stated position. Evidence therefore must be a present reality or a past occurrence. One cannot go to court today and say that one’s evidence is a future event that has not yet occurred. For example, you cannot take someone to court for crossing the boundary line of a property that you do not yet own. A future event that has not occurred can never be adequate evidence to prove or disprove any matter. (At least, not in the natural)
However, the scripture says that the evidence to support your dream, that which will prove those hopes and desires to be correct and then fulfilled is not future manifestation, it is your present/today FAITH.
When someone asks you, or you even ask yourself, how do you know that what you desire will become a reality, your response should be, “my Faith IS the evidence and proof that it will become a reality”!
The positive outcome for your hopes and dreams is secured because Faith is the evidence that proves/guarantees that what you desire is already yours and will become a reality in the natural.
Your FAITH makes your hope true. It is not the occurrence or manifestation of the dream that makes it real; it is real from the day that we exercise Faith.
Here are some examples in scripture for both Faith in Conception and Faith as the Outcome.
By faith (the various saints) believed (Hebrews 11) – this demonstrates Faith as the catalyst for the creation of a desire.
If you have faith you can say to the mountain move (Mark 11:23) – this demonstrates the sure outcome of faith. It is the actual evidence that it is done and the physical change will follow.
This is the reason that as Christians we are commanded to “live by faith” because that is our reality. Our sight is not our reality, Faith is! (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Without Faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)– God is pleased when we live in step with His will and purpose. ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22b
To do His will, we must receive his desires in our heart by Faith (remember that Faith is the necessary ingredient of every desire/hope), agree with Him about those desires and then live out the FACT of the thing being accomplished, because your FAITH is the reality that it is done.
However, if you were like me, I often struggled with being sure about what exactly was/is the will/desire of God for me in specific situations. I have learned that we don’t have to be back and forth about whether or not a hope or desire is the will of God or whether the physical thing will be manifested. His Word says, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4).
There was a time that I interpreted that scripture to mean that God will give me the things that I desired. However, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the scripture actually means that desires and dreams will be deposited in our hearts by God (as we continue to renew and transform our minds). Over time we will no longer have random vacuous wants but our desires will be shaped by God.
This is one test that I use to know if a desire is mine or God’s. If you have tried to shake a particular desire, sought God with your whole heart and petitioned Him to remove it if it was not from Him and it’s still there, that may be good proof, that God has given you this desire. He gives us desires to fulfil his will and purpose. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
This outcome element of Faith is what distinguishes the Christian’s dreams and desires from that of the unbeliever.
Be Encouraged
I want to encourage you, if you are struggling to know whether or not something is God’s will for you and if you are struggling to believe whether He will work it out for you; remember that it is God who gives desires to His children, desires that have faith as the core component. That same FAITH guarantees the good outcome even before you see it in the natural.
(In another article, I’ll share some of my own experiences with discerning which desires or dreams were from God)
Krystal Baynes-Hoseinee
