What is faith and what does hope have to do with it?

Welcome to my first post.  This blog is a record of my personal bible study, I hope it can help someone else as I journey though this..

notes and scriptures copies from www.bible.cc

Hebrews 11 (NIV) / NKJ

1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.

1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
3Through 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.
...
38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

"Faith in the divine declarations answers all the purposes of a convincing argument, or is itself a convincing argument to the mind, of the real existence of those things which are not seen." But is it a good argument? Is it rational to rely on such a means of being convinced? Is mere "faith" a consideration which should ever convince a rational mind? The infidel says "no;" and we know there may be a faith which is no argument of the truth of what is believed. But when a man who has never seen it believes that there is such a place as London, his belief in the numerous testimonies respecting it which he has heard and read is to his mind a good and rational proof of its existence, and he would act on that belief without hesitation. When a son credits the declaration or the promise of a father who has never deceived him, and acts as though that declaration and promise were true, his faith is to him a ground of conviction and of action, and he will act as if these things were so.

My notes

Faith appears a funny thing. It is the juice that makes us believe in, or trust totally, that which we would otherwise merely hope for. The interesting thing is that in Heb 11:32..40 there are examples of men of faith who did not receive what they were promised during their lifetimes. Faith does not translate into an easy life. In many cases, faith kills us in this life, makes us destitute and poor. But that is just the thing. Faith also presupposes that this life is fleeting, and we need to see the big picture, and naturally come to see this time on earth as fleeting and temporary. We are just passing through, aliens in this land.

How does this translate to our every day life?

We need to continually remind ourselves that this life is fleeting and that much is to come, and prepare our hearts for that time. We need to keep a timeline in our minds, with this current time being a small speck on the scale. We need to clearly understand the promises we believe in. We need to clearly recognise which promises of God are meant for this life and which may be applicable only later. This is not an “easy out” for allowing events which we believed would not happen. We need to be very very sure of what exactly God is promising and what not.