Evidences of Faith

Joe and I rented "Henry Poole is Here" (Luke Wilson) last night. Without giving the movie away, it basically was about a man who refused to believe or have faith even though there were living proofs of miracles that surrounded him and they were happening right in his own backyard! After we watched it I started thinking about my personal faith and hope.

Hebrews 11:1 popped into my head this morning. Since I am no bible scholar, I won't even attempt to dissect the verse but here are some different translations:

-Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.(NIV)

-Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.(NKJ)

-Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
(NASB)

-Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.
(Contemporary English)

-Now faith is being sure we will get what we hope for. It is being sure of what we
cannot see.(New Life)

-Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
(Holman Christian Standard)

-Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means
being certain of the things we cannot see (J.B. Philips)

-Now faith is the assurance (confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope
for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality
[faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. (AMP)


Today what am I hoping for and putting my full confidence and certainty in? Is it in my comfortable American lifestyle? Is it in the well being of my children? My husband? How I look? How I feel? Will these temporary flashes of happiness give me peace when my world comes crumbling down around me? When a job is lost or a life endangered? Of course not.

It's not forgetting when the kids are healthy and the job secure.

It's not forgetting in the middle of the rat race.

It's not forgetting when I'm packing three lunches and frantically grabbing hats and backpacks every morning.

It's not forgetting in the mundane things.

Faith to me, right now, is daily consciously being aware of what I am hoping for and holding onto what in my humanness are "small" proofs of a real God that really aren't so "small" when I really think about it. Here are some of those little reminders,

-Hearing my sweet Ayla say, "I love you Mama"

-Watching my precious boys forgive one another

-Gazing at a wondrous sunset

-Quietly feeling the peace of God enter into my soul after the children are sound asleep

The list could go on and on...

Evidences of faith...