I remember when the movie “Polar Express” first came out. It didn’t look animated. You could see individual hairs on the kids’ heads. The cinematography and visual beauty of this movie was mesmerizing. I remember hearing a quote that struck a chord with me. The conductor tells the boy,
“Seeing is believing,
but sometimes the most real things in the world
are the things we can’t see.”
It’s those things we cannot see and yet believe which require faith.
Luke 1:45, “She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled.” This verse is talking about Mary. Mary believed without seeing what was to come. She believed because of what she was told.
Believing when you see something is not faith.
Believing when you see it in front of you is not hope.
Believing when you see something does not develop trust.
She believed based on what she heard, and because of her belief and faith in God to deliver His promise, Mary was blessed.
Believing without seeing leads to God’s blessing.
Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” The message to Mary led her to hope for what God was going to do in her life. Her hope didn’t become reality until Jesus’ birth. Her proof would come 8 months later that her faith in God and His promise would be fulfilled.
What is your “faith” resting on? Is your faith resting on a word God has given you, or is it what you want to happen in your life?
For you to believe, do you have to see God’s hand moving or see the outcome before you will identify it as God’s will for your life?
Many recall Doubting Thomas, the disciple who had to see the nail marks and put his finger where the nails had been (John 20:25), and many look down on Thomas. In truth, there are more Christians like Thomas than there are those with the faith of Mary.
Believing God, trusting God means not seeing what God has placed in your heart as hope, but rather knowing He will deliver and fulfill the hope He put in your heart. Might want to read that again. Dissect it. Figure it out.
Hebrews 6:19, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.”
The angel of the Lord spoke to Mary and placed the hope in her heart for what was to come. It was something that had never happened before and would never happen again. Many would not believe her. Many would reject her and ridicule her for believing in the hope, but she believed anyway.
God has placed a hope in each of our hearts. Many are still searching on how to fill that hope for themselves. People search and search and believe people or things will fill that hope, but it won’t.
The hope God placed in each of our hearts anchors our soul regardless of what may happen in this life.
The God-placed hope in our hearts has a distinct shape. It’s the shape of a manger which morphs to the shape of the cross. It’s only when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior that God fulfills that hope in us.
People are searching for hope in this dark, depraved world. 1 Peter 3:15,…”Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
Are you ready to give an answer? Will anyone see the hope in you to even ask you why you have hope? Or do you have the hope that isn’t hope at all because you require seeing to believe?
People are looking for hope. This is a great time of year to tell of your hope and faith in Christ and bring light into their lives. Will you?