God gives all of His children two important gifts. They are faith and hope. The Spirit of God brings these gifts to your heart. Faith and hope make it clear that God is at work in you. Both faith and hope come from God, that you may put your faith and hope in God and His Son Jesus Christ.
There is an important difference between faith and hope. Faith receives from God now; hope receives from God in the future. Faith receives eternal life from God through Christ now. Hope is your guarantee that God has much more for you in the future. Faith is the evidence that God is with you now. Hope is the assurance that God is with you forever.
Faith receives God's love now. Hope assures you that nothing, not even death, can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Faith is the evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in you now. Hope is the assurance that God will finish what He started.
Faith and hope are abiding gifts from the Spirit of God. They don't just come to visit with you from time to time. They come to live in your heart as permanent residents. Thank God for the gifts of faith and hope. They are gifts from God our Father, purchased for us at the cross of Jesus, and delivered to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 12:1).
