FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." Trying to solve the problem of faith is in itself an evidence of faith. Other than drawing this conclusion, this scripture drives me crazy every time I encounter and try to invoke it, as something which might be inherent in me, because there is really nothing there. The scripture says, "Hope doesn't have the thing hoped for, and so you have to hope against hope for the thing hoped for". So we have to become the enemy of hope because it stands in the way of obtaining to faith, but we are using the very thing we are fighting against in order to win. What's that all about? We try to quote the scripture as if it was something exalted and enobling, but it becomes degrading as long as we continue to hope and do not believe, and have nothing to show for all our hoping, but not doing anything else, except the thing we're supposed to believe, only it's not working, so why do we keep hoping. I really want to know where it says in scripture  exactly how long we need to wait before it becomes God's problem rather than ours. TO BE CONTINUED...