As it is written: I have made you a father to many nations, even before God whom you have believed, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which are not, as though they were.

Romans 4:17

I came across the above image on a Facebook post. The accompanying comment was, “This is why I have trust issues.” Unless no one has ever disappointed you, you most likely have or have had trust issues as well. Reading articles from various media outlets alone can trigger mistrust in just about anything or anyone, especially in an age of filters and AI technology. Needless to say, I have arrived at a place where I trust only God and His Word. However, even there I have had my moments of doubts and confusion. Why? Simply because even though Scripture declares that “[He] calls those things which are not, as though they were,” my faith dwindles when it’s difficult to see past the lack of visual evidence. It’s part of human nature.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Take the picture above for example. It should be to no one’s surprise the evident oxymoron. Despite the mixed history/legends surrounding the naming of these two countries, one of the most popular stories recounts how crafty Viking marketers named the settlement Greenland to attract more settlers to their new colony. Iceland, on the other hand, was the more desirable real estate, and its settlers named it Iceland to guard their well-kept secret. If true, this would classify as one of the most lucrative deceptions in real estate!

Thinking about the times I have struggled to see through the eyes of faith, I can only imagine what people who don’t have a spiritual worldview go through when presented with life’s contradictions and seemingly hopeless situations. Were it not for Biblically generated faith and visual evidence of God’s creative and sometimes miraculous power, I would say that my life would be pretty hopeless not to mention without any purpose.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”

Psalm 57:2

Hope is what keeps humanity going despite the challenges it faces day in and day out. Because hope is the expectation for something good/positive to happen, there could never be such a thing as “false” hope. We hope because we do not know the outcome of the unexpected. We hope because we choose to believe there is a chance for fulfillment. We hope because not everything in life is bad, negative, and painful. More importantly, I believe we hope because, amid life’s trials, we have experienced the goodness of God at one point or another. In fact, every morning we wake up we are given the opportunity to hope for something good and trust that God will see us through even when what we see or hear may dictate the opposite. If we never lose hope we will be able to see those things which are not as though they were. And this, my friend, is what faith is all about and the way we ought to live.

For we live by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7