Read: Hebrews 11

                As I read a devotional recently I was reminded of those first times that our children learned to drive a vehicle.  I still remember the first time our daughter got behind the wheel after getting her drivers permit at age 15.  I started out a nervous and uneasy passenger in the front seat.  It wasn’t long until my wife took over in the front and I was directed to the back seat.  I lost my job as navigator because I was too uptight and on edge with every little turn.  Truth is, both of our children were pretty good drivers.

Carey Scott shared about this experience with her children in a Proverbs 31 Ministries devotional.  She said, “These drives (with her children) were full of all kinds of hopes.  I hope Sam will stay on the road.  I hope he’ll remember his turn signal.  I hope I don’t die.”  She said her son also had a prevailing hope.  That his mom would keep her mouth shut during these drives.

Scott goes on to write, “Hope is a powerful motivator. It’s what drives us to try again. It’s what keeps us from sinking under the weight of adversity. Hope keeps us positive, fuels our joy, and helps us reach for our dreams with gusto. Hope matters. And while many think hope is nothing more than wishful thinking, Christian hope means confident expectation. It’s believing in the possibility.”

Hebrews 11 is filled with the faith and hope of God’s people.  From Abraham, to Noah, and many more, this faith in God’s promise gives the people hope to keep moving forward.  In the end they saw how their hope, faith, and trust in God changed their story and their situations.  It can do the same for you.  We had hope that our children would learn to be good drivers.  We had faith that God would protect them during that time of learning, and in the end we all learned something about faith, hope, and trust.  Yes, I’m riding in the front passenger’s seat again without any fears.

Make it Personal:        Along with Hebrews 11 there are many wonderful testimonies of faith and hope in the Bible.  Get your Bible out this week and read about them.  You will come across great verses like this that you can make personal to your own situation.  “I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)