“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” Hebrews 11: 6
Faith defies logic. Faith is always criticized. Faith is always rewarded. Last night, “Heroes of the Faith” popped into my mind. And it’s been with me since I woke up this morning, so I think I should write a little something about these Heroes…
God is looking for a personal, dynamic relationship with us. Our faith is an incredible gift from our Creator, and it’s by faith we somewhat understand the things of God. This faith is exactly what gave the heroes of the faith, mentioned in Hebrews 11, the strength to keep plugging along in this crazy world. The Bible tells us that these heroes of the faith died without receiving all that God had promised, but they never lost their vision of Heaven. They finished the race without giving up…
“Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.” Hebrews 11: 35-39
Now, let’s apply this to our lives… How often do we become frustrated, impatient, and discouraged because the achievement of our goals seems so far away? How many of us once saw an escape of our circumstances a possibility, but it’s been so long those desires have been unfulfilled… we’ve lost all hope of deliverance? We need to take courage from these heroes of faith. We must look at their lives (and I’m preaching to myself) as examples; their weakness was turned to strength.
Things may be really great in your world today, and things may not be really great in your world today. Take heart and know whatever you’re in the midst of, God is there too. There is nothing that comes into your life God didn’t plan for or allow; to deny that, would be denying the sovereignty of Almighty God.