Faith Structures Hope

Faith is the means through which your hope is structured. Hebrews 11:1 defines Christian faith; "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Revelation 3:20 encourages you to accept God’s open invitation to turn to Him. When you ask God to come into your life, it’s like finding a lifeline. When you accept God’s hand to pull you up and out of the hole, you find that a structured hope in God not only leads you to the top but matures you so you make better choices in the future (a new sidewalk, one accompanied by guide rails of God dependency, not self-reliance.) Using a Christian perspective, you find that Jesus asked His disciples to not only join Him in "Paradise" but to follow Him now, in this life (Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9, Luke 6:13-16, 23:43). They didn’t approach Him, but Jesus invited them, He invited them to join Him. Because the men made a free-will decision to follow Him, they received His mentoring and they realized a new normal (E  ). 

 

Faith in God energizes your hope by equipping you to walk anew with Jesus as you climb, applying yesterday's life’s lessons today, so you can reach the next step in Erickson’s development chart tomorrow (Isaiah 42:16, 6-7, John 14:6). Psalm 90:12 says that when you ask God, He will “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom”. Having faith in God and applying it to your life brings Godly wisdom and confidence (Vos, B. (2012)). Knowing God accurately binds and structures your hope so you know how to apply God's principles in your everyday life. Godly wisdom because it structures your hope (Romans 5:4, Hebrews 11:1, 2 Peter 1:5-9,           1 Corinthians 2:5).

• Read more on about choosing to honor God above yourself @ https://courageforlife.org/blog/how-to-be-god-reliant-instead-of-self-reliant/

 

The key to structuring your hope is your ability to trust. When you do trust, it shows by the choices you make and the attitude that carries you through your actions. In other words, hope needs faith to produce action. Notice that Erickson uncovered that the first psychological crisis to overcome is the “trust verses mistrust" stage. An accurate hope is built around what truth you know about what you believe to be true. When you feel the negative consequences of your own choices, you begin to listen more closely for truth. God is truth (Jeremiah 9:23-24, Psalm 146:5-7, 3-4, 20:7, Isaiah 50:10, John 14:16, Hebrews 6:18). Jesus said the work of faith is to believe the truth about God and to trust Him as you walk, without giving in to unbelief - falling back into old/comfortable culturally learned habits (John 6:29, John 17:14-17, 17:3, Hebrews 6:19, 3:19). Ever-increasing faith is proving your constant hope is in Jesus Christ as seen by every action you take. The more you trust God and follow His Holy Word, the more you’ll discern events/circumstances using His truth and you'll gain the perspective you need to overcome your dark human emotions that are tempting you to stay at the bottom of the hole, held prisoner by worry, fear, and/or anger (Ephesians 4:31-32, John 14:5-7). Instead, because you trust, you confidently, but dependently, reach up and grab for God’s hand. 

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Trusting God, in both easy and hard times, is a learned skill that grows easier over time. Resting in Christ means that you have grown comfortable following the Holy ways of God (1 Peter 1:15-16, Titus 2:12, John 4:24, Luke 6:46). Because of God’s Holiness (His ways are better than ours), Sovereignty (God controls and knows everything) and Lovingkindness (Mercy & Grace), you are willing to adopt His boundaries into your moral code of conduct. When you act on your decision to walk in the Christian faith, you find your strength is now in Christ and this brings joy and rest to your work (Luke 1:246-47, Psalm 16:11, Nehemiah 8:10, Appendix 1N). For Christians, it’s faith that nudges you to awaken, to come to realize that you can't get up without God. It is this decision that begins your journey towards acquiring wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

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Will you yield to the Holy Spirit and take God's route (referred to by Freud as the "superego")

by using intentional principle-centered faith and voluntary self-control?

or 

Will you let your "id" persuade you to deny the truth of God for the sake of your self-concept/image? (Feeling/being seen as in control and doing whatever you want but still feeling guilt, shame and fear while experiencing the negative, natural consequences of excess.)

 

The result of a yes answer to the first question is actively resting in the truth of God's Word, whereas the result of the second produces anxiety expressed in either paralyzing or extreme behavior (Appendix 2E, Appendix 2F, Still Anxious?). There’s a feeling of peace when you finally decided to forgo your independent decision-making and, instead, rely on doing what is right in God’s eyes (Judges 21:25). Then the sayings, “God’s got this!” and “Turn the other check” will no longer be a clichés, but will strengthen your soul so you can focus on doing those right things you know to do and trusting that God will do what you cannot (Hebrews 10:24, 6:18, Mark 10:26-28). 

 

​Rest Begins in the Heart

In this website, “rest” is defined as an inner peace in your soul as you walk the talk of Christianity achieved by an active state of Christian Cognitive Consistency. D(A+B)=C   is being and doing the Word of God in public. When you believe God is the everlasting King of Kings and Lord of Lords, you will follow Christ’s example (on earth as it is in heaven) joyfully. Joy, because your free-will decision to exchange your self-reliance for trust in God is an outward expression of the mind and actions of Christ; 1 Corinthians 15:53, Romans 2:7, 2 Timothy 1:9-11, Colossians 3:10-17, 1 Peter 1:13-23).

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Vulnerability is needed to formulate trust. It's through knowing and accepting that God loves you, that you will shift your perspective so you are motivated (A) to trust the Holy Spirit (D) and take the necessary actions (B)  that lead to the desired outcome (C  ). Love makes trusting behavior possible (1 Peter 1:3-9). It’s your faith in Christ’s finished work, not your own works, that propels you from hope - stage 1, to wisdom - stage 8, on Erickson’s developmental chart (Ephesians 2:8-20). Christian faith can be defined as your heart’s motive to act on what your faith believes; God is good, God is fair, God is love, God loves you and His Holy Love never fails (Psalm 136:1, 1 John 4:8, 1 Corinthians 13:8, 13, Romans 5:8). God is faithful and for you to show your faithfulness to Him, you try to do what the Word of God says to do even when you feel uncertain, and you let God orchestrate the results (Proverbs 3:3-5, 2 Timothy 2:11-13, Psalm 28:7, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 1:20).

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When passion collides with purpose, rather than impulses and fears controlling you, you can rest while working because your intentionality and courage energizes your journey towards goal fulfillment (Joshua 1:8-9, 1 Peter 2:9, Psalm 18:39, Snyder, C. R., Feldman, D. B., Shorey, H. S., & Rand, K. L. (2002))! Your change in heart, guides you to want to follow the instructions of Christ, unashamedly and with a single-minded devotion (Matthew 11:1, 6, 18-19, 28-29). It's your association with God that propels you forward to a new normal (Isaiah 43:18-19, Matthew 6:34, Romans 8:1, Ephesians 4:22-24, Philippians 3:13-14). It's takes a span of time, a progressive journey of learning and doing, that matures you to become the person you are capable of becoming, "in Christ" (Ephesians 4:14-15, 17-24, 27, 30, 2 Thessalonians 1:3).  

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It is God's grace to you that equips you with the strength to act but it’s His mercy (He doesn’t demand perfection) that gives you rest. When you see your life through the eyes of humility and when you realize that you are a Child of God - loved and forgiven by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, your gratitude brings this Attitude; a willingness to “bow” down before Him and trust Him to pull you through the performance tension associated with learning new skills so you can change (Galatians 4:1-7, Isaiah  49:9-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Psalm 95:6-7). Pride, blinds unbelievers to God's mercy and it can even blind believers to God's grace (Galatians 1:10, John 5:44, Romans 1:18-23, 6:1-3, Jude 1:4).​

 

Once you realize that God wants to help you and you are aware of nothing else you can do (as is made clear to you when you hit the bottom of the hole), your decision to trust him becomes visible through your actions. Trust can only be seen in an analysis of actions taken. God accepts the decision of your heart when you cry out, but it is up to you to prove it by reaching out to Him with your hand. This subtle movement reveals the relationship between hope and trust. Hope reaches out and trusts (Hebrews 11:1).

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A knowledgeable hope in God will not disappoint you as you take the necessary steps to follow God to get to the top of the hole (Romans 5:5, 2 Peter 1:5-9). You'll find yourself seeing with a broader perspective. You’ll see Christ is not just Savior, but Lord too and this is what stimulates changes in how you view the word "rest", “work” and “believe” and changes how you walk (Appendix 1G and Appendix 1L). God’s unconditional acceptance of you, motivates you to choose to act with restraint to balance your self-love within the boundaries of Holy love, authored by God and modeled by Jesus Christ. This decision leads to your "bounded rationality", a term made popular by researcher Herbert Simon, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1978 for his work on decision-making (Simon, H. A. (1972)). 

 

Simon theorizes that if you only have $100 dollars to spend and if that money is needed to pay bills, you won’t spend the money today, but will save it for what is necessary. Another proof that rational behavior is clearly shown by the consequences of your choices is when you let God through to your heart. When you do, your awareness grows and your insight deepens. Hope in God brings structure to your hope because of God's Holy nature. His Holy nature brings to your mind new thoughts. You start to consider following the way of Jesus Christ and just that thought calms your soul (thoughts, mindset/will and emotions; Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 4:9-11, Philippians 4:6-7) so you want to act according to His ways (2 Peter 3:1-2, Proverbs 28:26, Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:2, 2 Timothy 1:7). This is when you realize that you can feel calm and peaceful while actively and steadily working to express your heart knowledge of God (Philippians 2:3-4, Ephesians 6:5-6).

 

The Apostle Paul explains the Christian perspective of bounded rationality in 2 Corinthians 5:14; 

"Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them."

Once you’ve made this vulnerable, heartfelt decision, to trust God, you begin to walk mindfully of Him.

• The authors, Tugade MM & Fredrickson BL., (2004), found that resilient individuals use positive emotions to rebound from, and find positive meaning in, stressful encounters. Read more @ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14769087/.  

• Read more about breaking habits to change your results in a devotion by Pastor Craig Groeschel @ https://faithgateway.com/blogs/christian-books/you-reap-what-you-sow.

• For a secular look at topics that stem from insecurity read articles from PSYCHOLOGS, INDIAS FIRST MENTAL HEALTH MAGAZINE.  

 

Christlikeness (your Godly A,B,C's)! 

Your choice to trust and pursue God is seen by your calm, confident demeanor because you are at rest (not stressed) while working (Hebrews 12:1-2, 6:1, 2 Timothy 2:21-22, Philippians 2:12). Yes, you do have to work to climb out of the hole you fell into, but your call to God clears out your mind so you can replace fear with trust and and exchange worry for peace (James 4:8, 1 Peter 5:8, Philippians 4:7). When you do turn to God, you have access to the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to learn Christlike behaviors (2 Timothy 1:7). From a new perspective of gratitude, you spend the rest of your life learning to trust God by following Christ even when it may not be consistent with what you think is the best way (1 John 3:2-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, John 17:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

 

God in the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament (Hebrews 13:8).​ Choosing to honor God, requires you to bend your will to do God's will (Romans 8:6-8). When you choose to align your conduct with God's definition of love, you’ll avoid the holes in your sidewalk (1 Peter 4:8, Romans 6:12-14, 1 Corinthians 13:4). God supplies a map to this full, wholesome, holy life, but it's up to you to choose to follow the directions (Jeremiah 31: 31-34, 25, 1 Peter 5:10, Deuteronomy 30:3, Psalm 51:12, 23:3, James 1:5). Don’t let fear stunt your growth, rather, take actions from a secure position of love, sustained by God's faith (2 Timothy 2:10-13, Isaiah 12:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 3:17). It's faith that empowers hope and hope is expressed by consistent, persistence, and enthusiastic good works aimed at helping your neighbor (1 Peter 3:15-17, Romans 12:10-14, Hebrews 10:35-36, 23-25, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Isaiah 40:29, Philippians 4:13). When you choose to implement holy, righteous actions (motivated by the love of God) you please God (Hebrews 13:16, 10:38, Micah 6:8).

 

Loyalty To and From The God of Love

Below are just a few examples from people in the Bible who acted on the truth s/he believed about God, despite circumstances.​ King David says this in Psalm 18:30; "This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him". King David’s positive expectations of God pulled him towards taking the right action while he moved through life, despite the decade spent waiting for the fulfillment of the promise he received from Samuel, the prophet of God, to take over as King of Israel (1 Samuel 16:10-13, Psalm 101, 2 Samuel 5:4). Like Abraham, David clung to God without feeling as if he needed to be "perfect"). Despite the fact that Saul turned on David - treating him like an enemy, David honored Saul and did not waiver in his commitment but endured many years of actively waiting (doing the right thing, even when suffering) until the official announcement was made regarding His promotion to King (Psalm 73:26, 1 John 1:9, Titus 3:5, Laminations 3:22-23, Philippians 1:6, Hebrews 10:24, 6:18, 11:11, Romans 4). It seems as though David learned from Abraham (the story that was passed down regarding Abraham's sons) that he needed too needed to wait for God's timing (Abraham waited 25 years for his son Issac; David waited 15 years for His first promotion to King of Judah).

 

While David, a Jew, shows us an example of endurance while actively waiting on God, the Gentile prostitute (Gentile was a name given to a group of non-Jewish people), Rehab, shows us what it is like to get a revelation from God that changed the trajectory of her life (Galatians 1:11, 12, Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25, https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Rahab.html). Rehab was a prostitute who had heard about the Israelite God, unlike David who already had established a relationship with God. It wasn't until she was given a chance to make a decision that revealed what it was that her heart believed.

 

Rehab choose to protect God's people rather than help her own statesmen. This choice began a new route, a new “sidewalk” for Rehab to walk down as she continued her journey through life. She choose God as the one to follow and, as a consequence of that decision, she left her country and joined a Christian community. Rehab went on to marry Salmon, of the Tribe of Judah, and was the mother of Boaz which put her in the ancestry of King David and Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

 

Matthew 15:21-28, below, describes another example of a Gentile woman who acted courageously and persistently because of her hope and belief that Christ could change her direction in life despite her Non - Jewish heritage:  

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.” But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.” But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!” Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

 

Rest in Christ While Working to Fulfill your Hope

Knowledge of and respect for God aligns your expectations with the truth of God's Word to make all things possible and achievable in Christ - our "hiding place" (Psalm 91:1-2, 119:114, Wnuk, M. (2022)). The Apostle Paul said he viewed his weaknesses as strengths because that’s when he is reminded that it’s God’s grace that is working in Him to do the next right thing in God's eyes (Philippians 4:13, 1 Corinthians 2:3-5, Psalm 118:6, Deuteronomy 6:18, Colossians 3:17, Romans 12:21, 8:18). As his relationship with Christ grew, the Apostle Paul learned to be content because he realized that, despite his many accomplishments, nothing is comparable to being unified with God, through dependency on Christ (Luke 2:14, 1 Corinthians 1:24, Ephesians 4:1-6, Colossians 1:28). Choosing to follow God is for our good and His glory! (Romans 8:28).

• Read more about God doing anything you ask within His will @ https://www.gotquestions.org/all-things-are-possible.html.

• Answer the personal bible study questions called "Grieve or Please the Holy Spirit".

• For more on joy, read https://www.gotquestions.org/joy-of-the-Lord.html.

• For more on entering God’s rest read: https://radical.net/podcasts/pray-the-word/humility-fear-and-obedience-jeremiah-4410/

• Read about restlessness in a Christian caused by unbelief at https://www.gotquestions.org/I-believe-help-my-unbelief.html. Contrast this with the concept of bounded Christian love (a structured hope) as depicted in Appendix 2H and Palms 119.