Belief

I cannot imagine the butterflies of playing in front of a live audience.  The size doesn’t matter, small intimate group of friends or strangers or a crowd that defies anyone’s precise count.  This isn’t the first thing I thought I would never imagine.  Before I continue, let me assure you I have no plans on playing or singing in public! 
 
I grew up sure I would never speak in public.  Even after some experience, I never thought I would ever speak to thousands at the same time.  I vividly remember my first visit to New York’s Times Square.  I could never imagine feeling comfortable being in the city, much less working there.  The list of what I could not imagine at different points in my life is far longer than I care to admit.  From relationships to being a father, from my work to taking professional risk, from being a follower of God’s to being passionate about God, each was, in its time and place, something I could not imagine.
 
Yet others believed when I did not.  I found something within I didn’t know was there. 
 
I hear God words and know there is more to our story than I imagined.  “Take a good look at my servant.  I'm backing him to the hilt.  He's the one I chose, and I couldn't be more pleased with him.  I've bathed him with my Spirit, my life.  He'll set everything right among the nations.”  (Isaiah 42.1)
 
I find fear and the future familiar friends.  I know uncertainty, and what lies ahead, will come at the same time.  I also know God is confident in “who” you and I are.  Divinity believes in what we can do.  The Spirit engages with us in the present. 
 
Belief is often illusive.  Hope is tangible, allowing us to do what we never thought possible.  Hope is the foundation that gives faith courage.  Hope is a gift God gives each. 
 
Today we can discover our belief as we hold onto Hope.  Today we can create new memories because of the Hope within.  Today.