Faith is a critical piece to your walk with Jesus. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 Hope is an essential piece to faith, so we can conclude that the enemy will often come after your hope.  We are to protect the hope we have, for the enemy will do anything to make you feel hopeless, which will diminish your faith.  If you begin to feel hopeless about a situation, how can your faith heal you, as it did to so many in the Bible?  How can your faith heal you if the hope has been removed and now faith is no longer there?  If faith is the assurance of the things we hope for, and you no longer have hope, how can faith exist?   We must not lose hope, for our hope in Jesus alone holds much power.  

As Jesus performed miracles, many times he responded with, “your faith has healed you”. If faith can heal you, we must first have hope.  Once you lose hope, you no longer ask for the healing, ask for the spouse, pray for the child, look for the job.  Once you lose hope, you lose the chance for the miracle because miracles happen where faith first exists.  To have faith, we must have hope.  In knowing this, why wouldn’t the enemy come after our hope?  That’s the best place to start.  Take out hope and it’ll therefore extinguish your faith… the very faith that was founded on hope that you had in Christ and his healing abilities.  

When studying this, my own earthly father came to my mind.  I don’t remember much about him, but I do remember his hopelessness.  It seemed like he was often distressed and down about many things.  I remember how negative he was and how often he was discouraged about life and its circumstances.  When I think of him now, I think of how hopeless he seemed… and the enemy snatched him up.  He lost hope in his life and drank himself to death- literally.  Where hope is lost, there the enemy can be found.  Hope is critical to life and once we lose hope, we start to lose our life.  

The Bible is so far beyond science.  The Bible was the first indicator of hope being a medicinal property in people’s lives, far beyond science actually discovering that.  If you research the effects of hope in your life, you’ll find that research concludes that hope reduces stress and negative emotions in people, which leads to greater purpose and well-being.  Having hope reduces stress and anxiety by triggering chemical reactions that release endorphins.  Jesus encourages us to not lose hope over and over again throughout the Bible and to put our faith and trust in Jesus because he already knew the importance it holds in our life.  “Jesus answered, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea’; and do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will happen, it will be done for you. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’” Mark 11:22-24 This is hope.  Hope is the expectation with certainty that God will do what he promised.  Doubt is the opposite of that, doubt is the uncertainty of the situation, this place between belief and disbelief.  Doubt will diminish your hope, which is why Jesus tells us to “not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will happen”.  If we circle back to the definition of faith in Hebrews, it is the “certainty of things we don’t see”… doubt is the feeling of “uncertainty”… do you see how doubt will diminish your faith?  This is why I think Jesus tells us over and over again to “believe and do not doubt”.  

Many times when Jesus was just about to do that miracle or present that healing, the enemy came after the people’s hope.  When Jesus was walking to heal Jairus’ daughter, people were coming to Jairus telling him his daughter was already dead. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”…  and Jesus overhearing what they said, told him, “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. Mark 5:35-36 Right before the miracle was about to happen, the enemy tried stealing their hope, which would extinguish their faith in the miracle.  The bleeding woman for 12 years had hope that she could be healed by Jesus- and still the crowd came against her hope. Doctors couldn’t figure out her condition and her situation seemed hopeless, but she thought “If I just touch his clothes I will be healed” and Jesus told her “Daughter, your faith has healed you.” Mark 5:34  She had faith because she first had hope.  The father of the demon possessed son hadn’t lost hope, even when the disciples couldn’t drive out the demon.  If the father stopped believing his son could be healed, he wouldn’t have hope or faith that Jesus could do it… and then the miracle happened.  God gives us little miracles throughout our lives… that exact song plays at the right time, that person speaks a word so specific to you, the rainbow appears when we need it the most… all at just the right time to fan the flame of hope. God knows those moments keep the hope of eternity in our heart and if we have that hope- that very hope will grow your faith and that faith will heal you. “Your faith has healed you.” Mark 10:52

Where in your life can you sense the enemy fighting for your hope?  Is there an area of your life where you are feeling hopeless?  God can still move that mountain, which is why the enemy is coming after your hope in that mountain moving.  You’re not too old for the baby. You can still get the job.  The spouse is still possible.  The cancer can still be healed.  Have faith and don’t let it die, for we must speak life into seemingly hopeless situations.  For if we have Jesus, life is breathed all over the situation. We will have that child. We will defeat that cancer. We will get that job. We will overcome poverty. We will break that addiction. We will see eternity with Jesus, for we have hope.  “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful”.  Hebrews 10:23