March, 1998

Hope Is A Goal Setter
by Marilyn Conrad

I want to encourage you with a message about hope. Since we began standing for our marriages we have all had someone say to us, at one time or another, "Don't get your hopes up," or "You don't get anything by hoping."

Well, God's Word encourages us to get our hopes up. In fact the Word puts prime importance upon hope. Hope is the first step in marriage healing. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." Without hope we have nothing to use with our faith and without faith the things hoped for will never become reality. Hope must be combined with faith for us to inherit God's promises for the healing of our marriages. Hope is a partner to faith. According to Hebrews 6:18-19 hope is for the soul what faith is for the spirit. Now our soul is composed of our mind, will and emotions. Hope stabilizes the soul just as faith stabilizes the spirit. Faith and hope are vital: an unbeatable combination. Faith produces results and we must develop faith if our marriages are to be healed. Hope functions as the container for faith. Hope keeps us from fainting in our minds.

Now, some of you may be thinking, "Marilyn, we know this. We’ve had lessons on hope and we are past the 'hoping' stage and into the 'faith' stage. We have stands of substance. We have faith."

I know this. However, God gave me more insight about the subject of hope. Many of you have become discouraged… very discouraged! And you haven't been able to rise above that discouragement and you don't understand why. Some of you have even questioned whether you should continue to stand.

Hope Is Always Necessary

Many of you have lost your hope – not your faith – you haven't fainted. You have lost your hope. Hope is not something we must have only in the beginning to obtain faith. Hope is necessary all through our stand! Hebrews 3:6, "But Christ was faithful as a Son over His house whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm UNTIL THE END." Hebrews 6:11, "And we desire that each of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope UNTIL THE END." Many of you have let go of your hope and that's why you are discouraged. As I stated earlier, hope keeps us from fainting in our minds. Hebrews 12:3, "so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds." You can faint in your mind without fainting in your spirit. However, fainting in your mind can eventually cause you to faint in your spirit.

Charles Capps says hope is a goal setter. It's like the thermostat on your heating or cooling system. A thermostat is designed to control the temperature in your house. That unit will produce whatever you dial into that little thermostat, which we call a goal setter.

Let's say it's 100º outside and you want the temperature to be 70º inside. Your job is to set the thermostat on 70º. The unit's job is to work night and day to see that the 70º is reached and maintained. It won't wash your clothes, cook your dinner or clean your house. It wasn't designed to do those things. It was designed to do what you dialed into it.

Speak Your Hope

The heart (spirit) of man is like the heart of that heating-cooling system. It is designed by God to produce the very thing you plant in it. You plant or set the goal by speaking it. As you speak God's Word, your mind is renewed, and faith begins to rise in your spirit. Hope is a goal setter. Always speak your hope, based on the Word of God.

Hope means: 1. trust, reliance; 2. desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment; someone or something on which hopes are centered.

Remember, hope is for the mind what faith is for the spirit. Unbelief in your mind will not become unbelief in your spirit if it isn't spoken out your mouth! Quit speaking the circumstances – speak the Word.

Several years ago I heard Dick Mills speak. His message was one of encouragement. He taught on Joseph and said, "His trip to prison was a side door to the throne… and we’re ready for a turn-around."

Then he had a word for all the people sitting on my row. I was taking notes and didn't hear him tell us to stand up until he said, "Starting with the lady in the green dress." Needless to say, I jumped to my feet. "The Lord gave me a prophetic word for you that not only are you coming out, but you are coming out to a surplus. Not only are you coming out but you are coming out to a larger sphere of influence than you have ever known. According to Psalm 66:12, people have tried to submerge us, they've gone right over our heads, tried to bury us alive. We've been through the fire. We've been through the flood. But now God is bringing us out; King James says to a wealthy place, one translation says to a place of abundant moisture. It's been dry but it's going to be moist. It's been sparse but it's going to be abundant. Everybody say it for this row here. Psalms 66:12, 'Men have gone right over your head trying to bury you alive. You've been through the fire. You've been through the flood. But now you are coming out.' Hallelujah!"

The following is the first of five lessons contained in our booklet Do I Dare Hope?, you may order through our order form.

Are you afraid to hope? Or do you want to just play it safe, because you might get hurt or disappointed again? Maybe your circumstances do look impossible. You can't see any way your marriage can be restored, so why hope? God wants us to hope. He gives us reason to hope in His Word. Meditate on the following scriptures. All references are taken from the NIV Bible.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Psalm 37:5"Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this."

These are great promises. Our Father tells us to put our trust in Him and He will act. He will work everything for good just for you. Isn't that a good reason to hope? Do you know anyone else that can make these promises and keep them? God gives us even more reason to hope.

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 112:7 "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD."

God knows your heart and He understands that there are doubts. He understands that we may look foolish to other people. He even has an answer for these thoughts and feelings with the following promise.

Romans 10:11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Meditate on these words, think about them daily and let them go into your mind and spirit. A new hope will rise up inside you. You will have more energy, more peace and more joy.

Isaiah 40:31 "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

When we dare to hope and rely on the Word of God, we begin to see a vision of a healed marriage that is the desire of our heart.

A Different Spirit

In Numbers 13:1, the Lord told Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan, "which I am going to give to the sons of Israel." His promise was already there. The land was theirs.

God's Instructions

In verses 18-20 Moses tells them what to look for:

1.     See what the country is like.

2.     Are the people strong or weak?

3.     Are the people few or many?

4.     Is the land good or bad?

5.     Are the cities open or fortified?

6.     Is the land fat or lean?

7.     Are there trees?

8.     Get some fruit of the land.

Forty days later the men returned and gave what God calls in verse 32 a bad report. They said, "All the men are of great size (giants) and we were like grasshoppers."> Joshua and Caleb reported that the land flowed with milk and honey and reminded them of the fruit they had brought back. Caleb said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it."

In chapter 14 the people grumbled against Moses and even wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. Their murmuring and grumbling almost caused God to destroy them but Moses intervened for the people.

A Spirit Of Faith

In verse 24 we find what pleases God… a spirit of faith. God said Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit, a spirit of faith. Their reward of faith was that they were allowed to enter Canaan when all the others could not.

As covenant keepers we, too, have a different spirit. Many in the church say marriages can't be healed because the circumstances (giants) look so overwhelming.

Those of us with a spirit of faith see our "giants", too. We do not deny reality. Circumstances are real. Romans 4:17 says, "we speak of things that be not as though they were." However, we do not deny what is! We deal with the circumstances (separation, adultery, divorce, etc.) We pray and do the necessary intercession and then (while continuing to pray) we speak of things that are not as though they were, knowing God's Word is true and that the circumstances must line up with His Word.

Unbelief Murmurs Against God

Like Joshua and Caleb we know there are giants in the land, but we don't grumble and complain against God. God judged the children of Israel for their unbelief. They had to wander in the wilderness for forty years and were not allowed to enter into the promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb were permitted to enter Canaan, along with the next generation.

However, the next generation grew up hearing grumbling and unbelief instead of faith and trust in Jehovah Jireh. Is this what we desire for our children? Or do we want them to learn from us how the spirit of faith operates? We must teach them to first of all, hear from God. We go to His Word and see what His promises are. Once we have heard from God we must then walk it out, even though we know we will encounter some giants along the way. We know that "we shall surely overcome this." So, like Joshua and Caleb, we always give the good report.

Yes, we do have a different spirit, a spirit of faith… faith in God and His ability to perform His Word! "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews 11:6