It was a Saturday morning.
I had just returned from a four-day church camp filled with worship, conversations, prayer, and moments that linger long after the final session ends. Like many retreats, it left me with more questions than answers—not because anything was lacking, but because I sensed God stirring something deeper.
That morning, I had a dream.
I found myself standing before a large audience, facilitating a discussion on faith and hope. The room was filled with adults, attentive and engaged. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. There was no fear of speaking, no anxiety about saying the right thing. Instead, there was a quiet confidence and a profound sense of peace.
As the discussion unfolded, someone from the audience offered a definition of faith:
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for and not yet seen.”
The words hung in the air.
I knew instantly that they came from Hebrews 11:1, yet in the dream they felt fresh—as if I were hearing them for the first time.
And then I woke up. The dream was simple, but it has stayed with me.
When the Future Is Hidden
Lately, I have been searching for my next steps in ministry.
Not because I lack desire. Not because opportunities are absent. But because I want to know where God is leading, and sometimes the silence between calling and clarity can feel long.
We often want faith to function like a GPS: tell me exactly where to go, what to do, and how everything will turn out. But Scripture paints a different picture. Faith is not certainty about outcomes.
Faith is confidence in God when the outcomes are still hidden. Faith does not eliminate mystery. Faith walks with God through mystery.
The Beautiful Partnership of Faith and Hope
Faith and hope are often spoken of together, but they are not the same.
Hope looks ahead. Faith reaches out.
Hope says, “I believe something good is possible.”
Faith says, “I will move toward it because I trust God.”
Hope gives us vision. Faith gives us feet. And perhaps this is why the dream felt so peaceful. The audience was large. The topic was significant. Yet there was no pressure to have every answer.
The room wasn’t demanding certainty. It was seeking truth. And truth, at its deepest level, is not a formula. It is a Person.
Standing Before You Feel Ready
Maybe that is the lesson I needed. I am waiting for my next step in ministry.
But perhaps God is less concerned about me seeing the entire staircase and more interested in whether I will take the next step He has already shown me.
The heroes of faith rarely had the full picture.
Abraham left home without knowing his destination.
Moses led people while wrestling with his own inadequacies.
Peter stepped out of the boat while the storm still raged.
None of them saw everything.
Yet all of them trusted Someone.
Perhaps faith is not the absence of questions.
Perhaps faith is carrying our questions into God’s presence and choosing to walk with Him anyway.
The Dream I Continue to Carry
I don’t know if the dream was prophetic.
I don’t know if one day I will stand before large audiences speaking about faith and hope.
Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. But I know this: The peace I felt in that dream was real.
And maybe that’s enough for now. Because ministry isn’t ultimately about platforms.
It’s about presence. It’s about faithfully showing up where God places us.
It’s about trusting that what is unseen today may become clear tomorrow.
Until then, I hold on to these words:
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and not yet seen. And perhaps the greatest act of faith is not having all the answers— but continuing to hope, continuing to serve, and continuing to say,
“Lord, I don’t see everything yet. But I trust You.” And sometimes, that is more than enough.
All about Lina Lifestyle 