Hebrews 11:20-21
The world despairs for the next generation. It has always been this way. As we grow older, and learn more, we look at the youth in despair. It is natural, but we forget that our parents looked at us the same way. The world will tell you that the youth today are lazy. They have no work ethic, they have no morals, they are not wise and they as a whole are going to be failures. The world will tell you that things are going to hell in a handbasket. There are many reasons that each generation feels hopeless about the next, but the main reason is that they do not have godly faith. Godly faith changes the way we view our children and our grandchildren. Godly faith changes the way we view that direction the world is taking. Yes there is still much evil in the world, and there is still much about the world that needs changed, but because we know that God is in control of the ultimate outcome, we have hope for the future. We do not place our hope in heaven alone; our hope also resides in the here and now.

It was Godly faith that allowed Isaac to bless Jacob and Esau even though he knew that Jacob was a schemer and he knew that Esau cared only for worldly matters. It was Godly faith that caused Jacob on his deathbed to bless Joseph’s sons. He would have blessed them even if he could have clearly seen what was coming. In the years ahead, his descendants would be enslaved and increasingly treated harshly. Their lives became ever more bitter and painful. Because he knew his God was greater than the pharaohs were, he had hoped for his grandchildren and their grandchildren yet to come. Godly faith is not blind to the wickedness of the world, but its remains focused upon the goodness of God. Godly faith has hope for the next generation because it knows that tomorrow God will still be God.