According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
In other words, hope is the precursor of faith. Before someone can have faith to believe, they first need to have hope in their heart for something better. The enemy knows that if he can steal our hope, then we will be powerless over his wicked attacks. That’s why he works overtime to keep us in the dark concerning God’s promises.
I met a woman in a healing line with eight herniated disks. She suffered with unbearable pain for many years. The doctors could not help her, there were no medical treatments or pills that could ease her pain. She lost hope that she would be well and pain-free again, and actually lost her will to live and wanted to commit suicide.
Then one day a few of her friends offered her hope for healing. And they brought her to their church for a healing service. As the woman listened to what Jesus did for her at Calvary so that she could be healed, her hope transformed into faith. She believed in the redemptive work of Christ and was instantly healed.
Like her friends, we need to offer hope for the hopeless. Hope for something better. As in the case of this woman, hope not only healed this woman’s spine, but it also gave her the will to live again.
God’s Word offers hope in every area of life for us. Here are a few of His promises:
- Forgiveness for sin. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
- Salvation instead of damnation. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
- His blessings in place of Satan’s curses. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters” (Ps. 23:1-2).
- Provision for lack. “Consider the ravens: They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouses nor barns. Yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds?” (Luke 12:24).
- Healing for sickness. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:5).
- Miracles for impossible situations. “Jesus, looking at them, said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible'” (Mark 10:27).
- Protection from danger. “there shall be no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your tent” (Ps. 91:10).
- Joy for mourning. “… to preserve those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified” (Is. 61:3).
- A new beginning. “Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Join Becky on SpiritLed Woman’s Skype chat by following spiritled.woman on Skype on Sept. 11, Friday at 1 p.m. CST. If you need prayer for healing, post your prayer request on SpiritLed Woman’s Facebook page.
Becky Dvorak is a healing minister and the Destiny Image author of DARE to Believe and Greater Than Magic. Visit her at authorbeckydvorak.com.
