Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Giving thanks for things that we have, hoping for the ones we don't have yet.
Faith is hoping for things not seen yet.
Perhaps the worse is indeed losing the hope, since as long as we have hope means we also have the faith that things not seen yet but hoped for will happen.
In grad school my adviser told me that I will reach my dreams because I am a risk taker.
Up till then I did not think about myself in that way. Yes, I dared to change my route, and courage to take the not so walked road, and perseverance to walk the stony path with thorns.
However, hearing from Dr. Frantz that I am a risk taker gave me the faith that I might accomplish my dreams because of taking the risk to hope and believe!
I think at times we need someone to tell us who we are, to say it out loud, and hear it from others.
Sometimes we need a mirror to see our hopes, and believe what we see.
The faith of things not seen yet...
So blessed are the believers, who do not need to see.
So blessed are the peaceful at heart, who have the joy to believe and trust in what they hope for.