Vision, faith, and hope

When I was young, I always struggled with Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Actually it was worse because the Bible I was using was King James (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)

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

I would roll that over in my mind and could never piece it together. Today, I finally get it, but I see even further. I believe faith is connected to two other traits: vision and hope. This is how I see it.

Vision is what keeps you motivated. It is the image of the spring when you are in the desert. It is the picture of justice when you are fighting injustice. It is the near tangible thought of victory when you are feeling defeated.

Faith is the belief that your vision will be a reality. It is eyes with which you see the vision, as 2 Corinthians 5:7 says:

We live by faith, not by sight.

It is the voice that tells you that the spring in the desert is real and the water is potable. It is the encouragement that says that you will win because your fight is just. It is the mental blinders that shields you from the negative only to see the victory straight ahead.

Hope is the gasoline that powers faith. You have to have hope that the spring with be real or you cannot have the faith to proceed. You have to have hope in justice in order to have the faith to fight for it. You have to have hope in victory in order to have the faith to achieve it.

Vision sees the goal, faith is enables the goal, hope pushes us toward the goal.