Day 4 – According to the King James Bible, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).
I have hoped for many things in my life that I did not get, and I fail to see how there is substance to something that does not materialize. I know I am not the only one to express this confusion.
Wikipedia says, “Faith is confidence or trust in a particular system of religious belief, in which faith may equate to confidence based on some perceived degree of warrant.”
I do see that faith could be considered as having confidence or trust in something, especially a religious belief. We still cannot say that trust or confidence have actual substance, as the King James Bible says, but at least I can wrap my brain around the Wikipedia definition. It does make sense.
Sometimes faith is all that we have to support our beliefs and expectations. Often times faith is all there is to focus on, so we can choose to call that substance if we have nothing else. At least that is something positive; it beats doom and gloom thinking, so for that reason I do believe faith is productive.
I only beg to differ with the King James idea of saying faith is substance and I see that The Living Bible has translated it much better.
“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”
Meditation for today: I choose to be confident in what I hope for.
Prayer for today: God, help me to trust You more.
Steve Holder 