Things Not Seen

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

This is a verse we frequently use as Christians when we are hoping for things to work out for our best or even to encourage others as they hope. But, how do we get to this point of hoping and having the faith that the book of Hebrews is talking about? It does not say that whatever it is we are hopeful for is going to happen. It just says, have faith and hope. I believe that usually it isn’t until “the hay hits the fan” that we tap into that kind of faith. When there is nothing left to pull from, we find ourselves at a decisive moment in our lives where we will have to make a choice: do I believe that I can have that kind of faith, or is it time to run for the nearest exit? Faith has to become us...Let me tell you a story to illustrate.

A few years back our family went through a very rough patch. The company I was working for decided to discontinue my position, and I needed to find a job as soon as possible. Out of the blue, my safe-secure rug had been pulled right from under me. I had a family to to provide for and bills to pay, but our bank account was shot. I applied to as many jobs as I could, but nothing seemed promising. At this point, I could hear those voices in my mind saying things like, “Why didn’t you save any money or how can you put your family in this position?” I had heard people “standing” on the Hebrews 11:1 verse, but I never knew what it was like to be there - until now.

The choice had to be made. I chose to believe that God knew I was going to be let go from my job and by knowing He also had a solution. As much as I did not want to be in that position, I needed to go through the process of developing my faith. The kind of faith that trusted “all things work together for the good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Part of our human nature leads us to think that at certain points we have to take over. You know, as men,we are used to being the one to make things happen, but I had come to the point that I realized I needed to allow the Holy Spirit to work in me. Let me point out that this is not about bad things happening to good people. It’s about submitting our human mindset to the Heavenly Kingdom mindset in Matthew 6:33 as Jesus instructs. Faith doesn’t happen overnight. Faith is the result of a relentless pursuit of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Whether we get what we hope for, as Hebrews conveys, in this pursuit, we are bound to discover that we truly have received everything as we put our trust in Him.

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As men, are you striving to get the things you are hoping for, or are you trying to develop a faith that will sustain you through the tough times? 

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This was a guest post by Rick Cubas! 

Rick is the director of the SkyWay Leadership Group in Texas.

stand up and LEAD!

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!"

These were my final words at the end of my plea to my buddy sitting reluctantly in front of me. When your conversations have to take place in a small cafe; your words are only allowed to get so loud. I raised my arms up and put my hands behind my head. He lowered his head to his lap and put it in his hands. His marriage was on the verge of disaster and all he could do was sit there...

Hit rewind and go back 3 days.

My buddy proceeds to tell me over the phone that he is done with his young marriage of only a year and a half. I listened patiently on the other end of the line, well aware that this was a familiar call from him time to time. This time was different though, this time he actually sounded like he was finished. Hearing the reality in his tone, I told him that it was time we took things to the next level and meet up. He agreed, finally, to meet up and discuss all the issues. I prayed hard and prepared myself for battle.

Before reaching the almost verdict stated earlier above, we discussed a variety topics and ideas on how and why to save his marriage. He wasn't really interested, but he was respectful enough to hear me out and listen to what I had to say to him. Here are 3 things to review before signing on the dark black line of divorce.

• Review the Background Information: After grabbing a quick snack for the long journey of discussion ahead of us, we settled down at a table and I asked him to tell me about the past. Without hesitation he started out with the word "SHE". Quite frankly, it was "her this" and "her that". I listened to him quietly, doing my best to keep the half smile off of my face. "She never does anything I want or ask her to do." "She never treats me with respect." "She never lets me finish what I'm saying before she jumps in with her own opinion." This went on for a while until I finally stopped him and told him we were going to switch gears.

• Remove Her and Focus on Him: Frustrated from all of the past discussion about her failures in the relationship, I asked him a different question. I asked him what he was contributing to the relationship and to keep what she was doing out of it. There was a pause, a long pause and a distant look in his eyes. I could tell that this was new territory for him. He started out with the word "she" again, and I stopped him in his tracks. I had a half laugh and said NO, what are YOU doing in the relationship? I asked him what he was doing special for her or what he did to help her out. I asked him if he had ever talked to her about all of the issues he was going through. Among a few quick excuses, I continued with my thought and went to the next important point. 

• Resolve to Change You! Not Her... I went on to tell him that I was once told that I am only capable of changing myself; I can really never change anyone else. I can't force anyone to do anything. The only real person I can control is myself. He nodded in agreement, and tried to insert a "but", but I held him off. "Do you love her?" He replied, "yes". "Do you want to stay with her?" He replied, "yes". "Are you willing to do whatever it takes and make some changes in your life?" He again replied, "yes". This is where you insert the statement, "You don't have a choice". I told him to pull his head up and take the lead in his marriage! Talk to her about the issues. Talk to her about the past and seek resolution! Make an effort to keep what you wanted so badly in the past rather than taking the easy route by signing the papers. Don't make divorce a choice and you won't look at it as a choice. The change in you will affect her in many ways and your leadership could bring the marriage back to having a solid foundation! Stand up and LEAD!

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I am fully aware that this scenario will not work in all marriage situations; 

 but my advice to every man on the edge is to give 
every effort before giving in to the papers. 

Men need to know that there is hope in marriage and in the future of marriage.

 I'd love to hear your story or thoughts in the comments below!

A Man of Hope

To understand what a man of hope looks like, we must first understand what it is to be a man without hope. Just about any thesaurus you open will offer despair as hope’s antonym. Essentially, a man without hope is a man of despair; someone acquainted with grief, acquainted with pain—a man of sorrows. The question I have is this; do we truly understand the road of hope without first walking down the path of suffering? Who is the model of a man of hope? I would submit to you that the man of sorrows and despair, as described in Isaiah 53:3, is in-fact the very model of hope for every man. Isaiah 53:3 states, He [Christ] was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not (NIV).

I learned how to be a man of hope during the birth of my second daughter, nearly two years ago. She came into the world as a healthy 10 pound bundle. Shortly after her first nursing, she spit up a very unusual substance with the consistency and color indicative of a very life threatening condition. Moments after we alerted the nursing staff, those same nurses very calmly carried our baby girl to the nursery for what we assumed to be a routine assessment. Then enters a doctor, a specialist we’d never met before, making an awkwardly nervous introduction of himself and the new road of suffering we would embark on. As this neo-natal gastro-intestinal pediatric surgeon stood before my wife and me, he shared about the potential need for emergency surgery and a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection that could kill our baby. Needless to say, my hopes were shattered—everything changed. I was left in a position beyond my control and certainly outside of my own abilities to alter. Our daughter was segregated from personal contact for many days as she lived in an intensive care unit with younger and in some cases babies that were a quarter of her size or less. It seems almost paradoxical that she was in intensive care yet there she was with wires, tubes, and a device alarming every few seconds. It caused a death-like coldness to fall upon my wife and me as we tried to grasp our new reality. No David and Goliath faith for me, my flesh emerged and my spirit was crushed. I had no hope; I was broken.

With nothing else to lean on, I leaned across a granite sink in a hospital bathroom and made my own Garden of Gethsemane as I cried out to God with brokenness and exhaustion. I felt the Holy Spirit begin his work of comfort and peace as brothers and sisters visited, prayed and cared for our family. Later that week I was joined in the hospital by a close colleague and co-worker who arrived with a wife in premature labor. They had begun their own nightmare and God saw fit to have me walk as a man of hope, with this man of despair, as his premature child began slipping away and ultimately went to be with Christ. I learned how to walk with despair, even as I hoped for my own daughter’s healing. I was sensitive, open to it, I got it, it all made sense to me now because the hurt and pain was now an acquaintance and the outcome uncertain.

You see, God desires to use us at every stage of our own brokenness to minister as men of hope to those around us. Christ himself was a man of hope even while he was nailed to the cross. In his time of despair he reached out as a man of hope to one last man of despair who dared to believe in Him as THE man of hope. Days after walking with this co-worker and his wife, we began seeing improved blood test in our daughter, and x-ray films were coming back clear of any infection. Signs of life and normal behaviors began emerging. Our hopes moved from strengthened to restored as we were invited to hold our daughter a week and a half after her birth only to take her home days later for what has been a beautiful two years.

What is a man of hope? I believe it is a graduate from the school of despair. It is a man who learns obedience through his suffering and put his hope in Jesus Christ. 

What do you place your hope in?

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This has been a guest article by a great friend of mine 

and brother in Christ, M. Coffin.

Click here to see other great articles by this Author!