Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Romans 8:24, “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen.”

Hope is anticipation of what is yet to come. What is seen here and now is often temporary. Why do we tend to settle for partial crumbs instead of waiting for the whole meal?

We spend so much of our time hoping for things of fleeting consequence: a sunny day, no traffic, a parking place, no arguments, a promotion, all pleasurable and all pale imitations of real hope.

Hope reaches out for the riches of our spiritual inheritance. We look to the promises already given. Seen hope—Emmanuel. Prophecy claims fulfilled. We can look back in fact. We can live today in presence, in daily manna. We can look ahead to more promises.

What is seen are gifts given.  Good news, release from captivity, balm for our souls, fellowship, words and prayer.

Hope gives courage, anticipation and strength in all situations when we take hold of it. Without hope—we die. Perhaps not physically, not life’s breath, instead soul’s breath drifts away. We miss living in forgiveness now.

Your hope Lord, of eternal life, forgiveness, mercy, grace, all beckon with a new reality. Yet it requires that I step forward in trust. Resist the fear that says this is all there is. You have intervened with Your love and mercy. Help me to step into your hope, which reaches so far beyond my limited seen boundaries.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 4: 8

“I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone,

O Lord, make me lie down in safety.”

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Unseen

Behind the oxygen: air

Below the tree: seed

Beneath the earth: nutrients

Life given each new day

sustained by invisible

love

every moment replenished

with forward motion

living

tied together past,

present, future—eternity.

Behind the visible: light

Below the task: energy

Beneath the sorrow: dawn

Breath sustained hope.

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     What is the difference between a man-made conviction of assurance and a God-centered one?

2.     How can circumstances make us the most vulnerable to doubts?

3.     When should we hesitate if we’re not sure we hear God’s voice?

Share: What word from the Lord has made it possible for you to take a greater step of faith without sight?

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Sometimes we tend to look for assurance in the wrong places. Or, maybe for the wrong reasons.  Assurance that we will be rewarded, loved, valued, because of things we do. And when the people we most care about disappoint us by not responding our attitude and hope decrease.

Except no one but You, Lord, can fill up the void within us. You alone are our assurance.

However when we do not see You, or hear You, we tend to misunderstand and let doubt creep in.

Yet we are convinced of so many things we cannot see: oxygen and air, light behind dark clouds and invisible nutrients in our food. Nature explodes with things not seen: microbes, neutrons, quarks and currents. Even when we can’t describe them, or understand them, or even pronounce them sometimes, we have no doubts or questions re their existence—their ongoing presence.

Your invisible realm. Invisible to the human eye geographically, yet wider and deeper and more potent than any earthly rule.

So why do I doubt the paths You set before me, or the value of the journey for its own sake? Or the voice of Your Holy Spirit in soft whispers?

Open my eyes, I pray Lord, to live in Your unseen reality and to fully become a kingdom citizen. Help me to walk in Your light in this shadow world.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 124: 7-8

“…The snare is broken and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry Introduction

As we continue this journey to grasp what it means, “to lay aside the old self…and put on the new self,” we come to the often-invisible realm of faith. What does a life of faith look like? How do we live in its hope? What is God’s definition of hope and faith?

We often look for assurance every day of our lives, assurance that we are wanted, loved, appreciated. We desire a confirmation of our value, our work, and ourselves. Yet we are looking for assurance that can be seen. We hope—yes—but for a concrete response.

Faith calls us deeper. To conviction. To trust. To care with or without a smile in return. To labor without encouragement. To act in conviction of our beliefs and our hearts. To act the same whether in solitude or company, in joy or despair. To act with expectation that the Holy Spirit will interact within and through us.

Sometimes it seems our faith is strong. Sometimes we only have faint glimpses of light. It takes time to take a firm root in us and we usually want to see results quicker, when we really need to go slower. So this study unfolds as seeds. Mondays we will reflect on a scripture passage. Wednesdays consider meditative questions. Fridays respond with poetry.

Thank you for continuing to explore. As you discover your own questions and insights, prose and prayers, please share.

Lord, we long for a faith based on Your unseen realities.

Refining Words

FRUIT

Work offered, chosen

by you for service

in vineyard, to bear

kingdom fruit.

An honor, privilege, joy.

And yet too often

wander into wrong field,

misuse given tools, think

only self capable.

Breed confusion, sorrow, blame.

Surround us by boundaries

within abiding that despite

tangled attempts

your truth grows.

John 21

Refining Words

FOLLOW

Follow where He

leads no matter

the path or where

another goes

tend feed lambs,

sheep, for as little

or as much time

exists in life

in death—follow

“This testimony is true.”

John 21