Be Assured in Tough Times

Hebrews 10:37-39 (KJV)
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Hebrews 11:1-6 (KJV)
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 1:29, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” It’s interesting how that believing, which is trusting Christ even in the most difficult of times, and suffering are linked together as something that is granted to believers.
Both verbs, believing and suffering, are in the present tense. Suffering is not always a given in a believer’s life and does not always have the same pain in it, but when it occurs it does not defeat a true believer! Instead it activates the faith that Christ alone produces in him to trust God no matter what. You see, faith is the “DNA” of all who believe in who God is and in what God says in His Word.  
In Hebrews, we find our text nestled in the context of Jewish believers who, because of intense persecution, were ready to defect back to the sacrifices of animals and endless temple ritual. In fact, many had already defected. Isn’t it interesting that when bad times come, we allow our minds to deceive us into thinking that no one is in control and everyone is on his own? So, we put ourselves into a survival mode and will do even the unthinkable just to escape what we have concluded is the worst thing that can happen to us—death. We tend to forget that God is in control and death has been conquered by Christ on the cross. 
In Hebrews 11:1 we see that faith rests on who God is and what He says: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The first thing that we notice is that the definite article is not used here before the word faith. This means that he is speaking of all that true faith is and does! The word “assurance” here is the Greek word hupŏstasis, which refers to that which stands up under and holds something up. Some translators translate it as “substance”. It is the foundation or the ground upon which one builds his hope.
Hupŏstasis was used in a legal sense for the documents that were stored in archives that would prove one’s legal ownership of property and therefore allow him to build upon it. This phrase, then, could be translated “Faith is the title deed of things hoped for.” The Holy Spirit energizes the act of faith by which one receives Christ into their hearts, and that becomes the title deed that God puts into his hand that guarantees the possession of all that God promised him that he hopes for. 
Have you fallen into the trap of believing no one is in control since nothing seems to be happening in the midst of your bad circumstances? There can be no greater assurance of our salvation and all the promises that God has given us than the foundation that was laid when you received Him into your life as your Lord and Savior. Our faith rests upon God and all that He has promised in His Word!
So look up, my brother or sister! God is in control, and the foundation that has already been laid in your life is assurance of the things hoped for and the things not seen. All the promises of God are present in Christ!
And that sure makes it “a good day to fly!”