This post was last updated on January 20, 2026

Day 324, Year 1

The Fruit of Faith

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)

The first half of today’s verse could be translated as: Faith is the essence that is being hoped for. First, our hope is to be “hoped.” This is absolutely not a hope created by any humans. The Christian faith is definitely not based on self-confidence or the creation of self-confident ideas or claims out of the air. What believers hope for is what God has given us. The implication here is a teachable heart that is demanded in us, that we are to hope for whatever God wants us to hope for. From this, we can see the relationship between faith and hope that believers will have no true faith without a word of hope from God.

Faith is needed to be the real substance in us. There is a hidden yet crucial component in today’s verse, which is not mentioned here: the words of God. As stated in the previous verse, believers are a group of people who have faith and are saved (Hebrews 10:39). For example, is there a difference between God’s people who have hope to go to the heavenly city (11:16) and someone who is unsure of going to heaven? Definitely, because the former tends to connect all decisions, words, and deeds to consider whether or not we can go to heaven, and thus adjust the minds and actions correspondingly. Contrarily, those who are not sure of going to heaven can do whatever they want, because they do not consider God’s eternal punishment to be real and terrible.

The second half of the verse could be translated as: Faith produces actions of deep believing with evidence. The author and readers of the Book of Hebrews were likely second-generation believers at that time, and some of them might even be nominal Christians, whose faith is merely verbal but not lived out accordingly. The author emphasized that true faith is evidenced and proven by visible assurance alongside relevant behaviors. In other words, Christian faith must be justified by explicit evidence. Outward, evidenced faith includes determination and perseverance in Christian convictions. The author pointed out that when believers are told by God to have hope, we know that the hope in Him will not be fake, but must be true. Thus, we who have faith in the hopes will then act accordingly. Accepting and following God’s hope, followed by actions to prepare for the future, cleanses our hearts and enables us to overcome various difficulties and trials. Faith, then, is a substance that is between God’s promises and the experience of believers. We are to trust in Him with no end and shall overcome all difficulties in the world.

Reflection questions:

1) What is the key to letting us have hope in God? Are you accustomed to waiting for God’s hope instead of creating it all by yourself?

2) Are you accustomed to living according to God’s hope and thus preparing for your future with relevant actions?