I Know My Redeemer Lives - Faith Before the Finish by James Hooper

Jul 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Lamenting with Hope in the Threshing Floor

Job’s raw honesty becomes a blueprint for faith. He names his pain—dead children, lost wealth, diseased flesh—yet still declares his Redeemer lives. Faith isn’t denial but defiant hope that holds God’s character above circumstances. Like Ruth lying vulnerable at Boaz’s feet, believers bring their mess to the One who covers them with redemption’s edge. God welcomes honest prayers from crushed spirits, turning threshing floors into places of provision. [06:05]

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18, NIV)

Reflection: What raw ache have you been afraid to name before God? How might voicing it honestly—like Job’s lament or Ruth’s boldness—shift your focus to His nearness?

Day 2: Redeemer’s Shadow Over Empty Fields

Boaz didn’t just reclaim Naomi’s land—he restored her legacy through Ruth. A redeemer’s work exceeds fixing problems; it rewires generational brokenness. Job’s declaration “my Redeemer lives” came while his fields still lay barren, his arms childless. God specializes in filling famine-scarred places with unexpected harvests, turning gleaned scraps into wedding feasts. What looks like survival mode today may be the first gleam of a coming redemption. [09:02]

“Then Naomi said, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.’” (Ruth 3:18, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for “scraps” of survival when God might be preparing a full harvest? How does Boaz’s relentless pursuit reframe your view of God’s timing?

Day 3: Knowing Down in Your Knower

Job’s “I know” defied every external reality. This gut-level certainty mirrors Ruth’s resolve to cling to Naomi’s God despite Moab’s idols. Faith lives in the knower—the spirit’s memory of God’s past faithfulness that outshouts present chaos. Like Naomi tasting Bethlehem’s bread again after years of bitterness, our knower recalls redemption’s flavor even when circumstances still taste like loss. [04:25]

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:25-26, NIV)

Reflection: What “knower” memory—a specific moment of God’s faithfulness—can you cling to when doubts about His care arise?

Day 4: Googly-Eyed Over Your Dust

The sermon’s quirky phrase “God is googly-eyed over you” anchors in Malachi’s unchanging Lord. Like Boaz noticing Ruth’s loyalty amid foreign fields, God’s gaze lingers on His people’s faithful scraps—a widow’s mite, a cup of water, weary prayers. His love isn’t fair-weather; it chases rebels like Jonah and builds legacies through outsiders like Ruth. Even when we feel like leftover grain, He sees banquet material. [18:08]

“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” (Malachi 3:6, NIV)

Reflection: When have you felt like “leftovers” in God’s kingdom? How does His relentless, unchanging pursuit challenge that narrative?

Day 5: Declaring Over Storage Unit Chaos

The pastor’s clutter of blessings—two houses’ furniture, sourdough slicers—mirrors Ruth’s sudden shift from famine to fullness. Faith declares “too much God” over both lack and excess. Like Job speaking resurrection before healing or Ruth claiming kinship before Boaz’s vow, we name God’s nature into our clutter. Every storage unit crammed with blessings becomes a testimony: our Redeemer trades famine for feasts that demand new containers. [27:15]

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV)

Reflection: What current chaos (lack or excess) needs you to declare “my Redeemer lives” over it? How might this shift your view from problem to provision?

Sermon Summary

Job 19 puts faith right in the middle of the mess, not after everything gets fixed. Job says, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” while his children are still dead, his body is still broken, his money is gone, his wife has given up, and his friends are accusing him of things he never did. Faith chooses what is known about God over what is felt about circumstances. Scripture gives more than an instruction manual. Scripture gives a glimpse of who God is, and faith gets built on that.

Faith does not ignore reality. Job never pretends everything is okay. He cries, laments, questions, and still holds on. God can handle honest prayers, even the “what the what” prayers, because God is a loving Father and is not offended by human weakness. Faith does not live in despair, but it also does not lie about pain.

The Redeemer stands greater than the situation. The word redeemer carries the sense of a vindicator, like the kinsman redeemer who steps into an impossible situation. Boaz steps into Naomi and Ruth’s loss, restores the land, covers Ruth, and becomes part of the line that leads to King David. God redeems failures, losses, sins of commission, sins of omission, and even the future. The circumstance is not bigger than the Redeemer.

What a person believes about God determines how that person endures. Job anchors himself in one truth: “My Redeemer lives.” God does not change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and the Lord says, “I do not change.” God is not barely tolerating his people. God is “googly eyed” with love, looking for someone on whom he can show himself strong.

Faith speaks before it sees. Faith is not just mental agreement, but a lifestyle of assurance that God will come through. Faith declares in advance because faith itself is the evidence of things not seen. God finishes something before he starts it, because God lives outside of time. The believer may have plans, but God knows the road, the timing, and the unseen details. Faith is confidence that Jesus is alive and working even when nothing visible has changed.

Key Takeaways

1. Faith tells the truth first Faith does not need to fake a smile or call pain something else. Job’s honesty shows that lament can sit beside trust without canceling it. God is not fragile, and God is not offended when brokenhearted people bring real questions instead of religious performance. [06:05]
2. The Redeemer enters impossible places The redeemer is not a distant idea, but the one who steps into situations with no human recourse. Boaz gives flesh to that picture by restoring land, covering Ruth, and turning loss into lineage. God’s redemption does not merely patch the past, it can carry broken stories into a future no one saw coming. [16:31]
3. God’s nature anchors endurance Endurance rises or falls on what is believed about God when life is hard. Job holds one unchanging truth while everything else is falling apart: the Redeemer lives. God’s love does not shift with circumstances, failures, confusion, or delay. [17:10]
4. Faith speaks before sight Faith is not waiting until the evidence looks impressive. Faith is the evidence, because it rests on the living Christ before the situation turns around. God’s work may not match human plans, but God knows the path and finishes what he starts. [23:21]
5. God blesses beyond bare survival God is not only enough to get a person through lack. God can be “a too much God,” bringing provision that creates a different kind of stewardship. Abundance carries its own test, because blessing still requires wisdom, restraint, and trust.

## [27:15]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:33] - I Know My Redeemer Lives
[01:17] - Faith Before The Finish
[02:50] - Job’s Faith In Unchanged Circumstances
[05:39] - Faith Does Not Ignore Reality
[09:02] - The Redeemer Is Greater
[09:21] - Boaz As Kinsman Redeemer
[17:10] - Belief Determines Endurance
[23:21] - Faith Speaks Before It Sees
[30:46] - God’s Plan Beyond Human Plans
[34:50] - Declaring Truth Over Circumstances
[38:10] - Invitation To Give Jesus Everything
[40:30] - Blessing And Sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Job 19:25-27
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” [00:33]

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” [23:55]

Hebrews 13:8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” [17:48]

Malachi 3:6
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” [18:44]

Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” [06:30]

2 Corinthians 4:8-9
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—” [06:41]

Observation questions

In Job 19:25-27, what does Job say he knows, and what future hope does he describe even while suffering?
What kinds of pain and loss were still present in Job’s life when he said, “I know that my Redeemer lives”? [02:50]
According to Psalm 34:18 and 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, how do these verses describe both human pain and God’s nearness in the middle of it? [06:30]
In the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, what are some specific ways Boaz acted like a redeemer? [16:31]

Interpretation questions

Job speaks with confidence before anything in his situation improves. What does that show about the difference between faith and denial?
If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, how does God’s unchanging nature help explain why a believer can endure hardship without giving in to despair? [17:10]
The word “redeemer” carries the idea of someone stepping into an impossible situation. How does the story of Boaz help make that picture more personal and practical? [09:21]
Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the evidence of things not seen. What does it mean for faith to speak before sight, and how is that different from just positive thinking? [23:21]

Application questions

Where is it hardest right now to say, “I know my Redeemer lives”? What part of life feels unfinished, painful, or confusing, and what makes trust difficult there?
Faith does not pretend everything is okay. What honest prayer needs to be said to God right now instead of covered up with religious-sounding words? [06:05]
God’s nature gives something solid to hold onto when life is shaky. Which truth about God is most needed in this season: that he is near, unchanging, loving, healing, providing, or redeeming? Why that one? [35:02]
Some people quietly assume they must have done something wrong if life is hard. Has that thought shown up recently? How would that belief affect the way a person sees God and handles suffering? [03:46]
The Redeemer is greater than the situation. Is there a loss, failure, regret, or broken place that has started to feel bigger than God’s ability to redeem it? What would it look like to place that back in his hands? [16:35]
Faith speaks before it sees. What is one simple, truthful declaration that needs to be spoken over a present situation this week? [34:50]
God’s plan does not always match human plans, but it is still good. Where has frustration grown because life is not unfolding on the preferred timeline, and what might trusting God’s road look like there? [34:50]

Sermon Clips

48s

#FaithOverFeelings

“``What we're understanding with this faith before the finish is that faith is choosing what you know about God over what you currently feel about your circumstances. We've got to understand who God is, and we've got to walk in faith with that knowledge. This is what the this is what the scripture is about. I I contend that the scripture is about us learning God's nature. We learn all throughout the scripture. It's not as much of an instruction manual as people say. I believe it's us learning God. It's getting a glimpse into who he is. And if you understand who he is, then you can base your faith on who he is.”

34s

#GodAlreadyFinished

“Because he lives outside of time. So when God starts something in your life, just know it's already finished. You just have to see it through. done. When you know God wants when God is gonna provide for you, he's already done it. Now you just have to walk in it and believe him for it. And Job says, I know my redeemer lives. I know he has he lives and he is gonna redeem me.”

42s

#FaithAcknowledgesPain

“Okay. See, I I was raised around the word of faith movement and I I learned so much from the word of faith movement. But there are some of them that go to extremes to where they just lie about the situation. They think they say it's faith when you just ignore what's going on. See, Job never denied his pain. He never denied what was going on. He lamented, and he cried, and he questioned. Sound familiar to anybody? Basically, faith is not pretending everything's okay.”

58s

#TrustGodsPlan

“So God, here's my plans. Work in those parameters. God says, that's cute. See, I I I know something you don't know. I know what's going on other places that you don't know. I know how that path is gonna take you and you don't know. So I'm gonna work it out. I'm gonna fix it for you. I'm gonna guide you. I'm gonna direct you. But it's not gonna be like you think it's gonna be. But see, his plan is always good. His plan is always good. Faith is confidence that Jesus is alive and is working even when you can't see it. So my challenge to you is, what truth about God do you need to declare over your present situation?”

49s

#HonestWithGod

“So see, we understand God can handle honest prayers. God is not offended by you asking, what the what? Why is this happening to me? Because we are human. We don't live in it. We don't stay there, but it's okay because at some point, you just you just wanna say, I don't understand. I've I've done all I know to do, and I don't understand. And God's cool with that because he's a loving father. He knows what you don't under what you don't know. And so what we're having to do now is have to learn to trust what he knows and not what we see.”

34s

#GodRedeemsAll

“So see, God redeems us. He redeems our failures. He redeems our losses. When something happens and we have no recourse, he redeems it. He redeems our sin, the sin of commission and the sin of omission. If commit sin, he will still redeem that if you turn it to him. And he can redeem our future. Amen? The circumstance wasn't bigger than the redeemer”

35s

#OverflowingBlessings

“See, when God blesses you, sometimes it's a problem because you have too much. He's a too much God. Remember that. When things look bleak, when things look bad, he's a too much God. You're gonna have a problem with what all he's he's doing for you at one point. Now it doesn't seem like he's doing anything for you, but just just hold on and trust him and thank him and believe him because it's coming.”

54s

#UnchangingLove

“He never changes. So we can count on him. He is there for us. Listen. He, in case nobody's told you, he loves Okay. No. No. No. He is enamored with you. No. No. No. He is googly eyed over you. You don't get what I'm saying. He is just he it's like I tell Sharon when she says, you're so handsome. I said, you're just drunk with love. That's all I can say. He just drunk with love about you. He loves you so much, and he never changes. That will never change. No matter what you've done, what's happened to you, what's happened in your life, he never changes how he feels about you.”

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