The Blessing of Believing

And blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord. Luke 1:45 (AMP)

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. Luke 1:45 (KJV)

Believing that something will happen is entirely different from hoping that something will happen.

The Greek word, pisteuo [4100 in Strong's Concordance], that is translated believed in the above text, means to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. - to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ).

By believing we entrust our whole being to Him. We must be so trusting in God that we know that what He has said will come to pass.

Faith, pistis, is the conviction that activates and empowers, believing when nothing can be seen. Faith gives credence, the evidence and substance, to the thing believed:

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Hebrews 11:1 (AMP)

Hope,elpizo, is the original expectation regarding a thing. So then, we first hope, then believe in faith, knowing that what we hope for will become reality to us. This is the blessing of believing.

Our steadfast assurance comes in that God, who promised, is Love. Faith works and is empowered by love and love never fails:

Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. . . (1 Corinthians 13:8 - Amp)