1 Peter 5:7 tells us (by faith) to cast ALL of our cares upon Him, for He cares for us…
In Hebrews, faith is active and lived out rather than a matter of mere belief.
Faith happens when we are willing to take the RISK of stepping out in obedience to God’s Word, with the underlying confidence of His trustworthiness and reliability, that what He promises us He will perform
To have faith means more than just to believe.
Hebrews defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith starts out certain.
When people believe that God will fulfill His promises, they are showing TRUE FAITH, even in the midst of all contrary feelings and or circumstantial evidence.
Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
When people have faith in God, they know without a doubt that He will keep His promises.
They live and make choices in this world based on the unseen reality of their future home in heaven.
They persevere in their faith despite pain, hardship, or persecution, because they are convinced that the unseen God is with them.
In short, faith in God makes all the difference, both now and for eternity; and the Bible tells us in verse 6 that without Faith we cannot please God.
The rest of chapter 11 goes on to describe the exploits of the men and women in the Old Testament, as they took the risk of stepping out in faith, in obeying God against all odds.
And in Hebrews 11:32-40 (in The Message Bible) we read:
I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves.
They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies.
Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection.
Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons.
We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised.
God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.
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11:32-40 These verses summarize the lives of other great men and women of faith.
Some experienced outstanding victories, even over the threat of death. But others were severely mistreated, tortured, and even killed.
Having steadfast faith in God does not guarantee a happy, carefree life.
On the contrary, our faith almost guarantees us some form of abuse from the world.
While we are on earth, we may never see the purpose of our suffering. But we can know with confidence that God will keep His promises to us.
The Old Testament records the lives of the various people who experienced these great victories.
Joshua and Deborah overthrew kingdoms (see the book of Joshua; Judges 4–5).
Nehemiah ruled with justice (see the book of Nehemiah).
Daniel was saved from the mouths of lions (Daniel 6).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were kept from harm in the flames of a blazing furnace (Daniel 3).
Elijah escaped death by the edge of the sword from evil Queen Jezebel’s henchmen (1 Kings 19:2-21).
Hezekiah regained strength after sickness (2 Kings 20).
Gideon was strong in battle (Judges 7).
A widow’s son was brought back to life by the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:8-37).
We, too, can experience victory through faith in Christ.
Our victories over oppressors may be like those of the Old Testament saints, but more likely, they will be directly related to the unique role God wants us to play.
Even though our bodies deteriorate and die, we will live forever because of Christ.
In the promised resurrection, even death will be defeated, and Christ’s victory will be complete.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
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FRIDAY, FEB 17
Faith in All the Ages
by Henry M. Morris, PH.D.
“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.”
— Hebrews 11:32
Hebrews 11 is a thrilling catalog of the faithful servants of God in all the ancient ages. There were Abel, Enoch, and Noah before the Flood; then Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in the patriarchal age; followed by Moses, Joshua, and Rahab in the time of the exodus and conquest. Finally, today’s verse summarizes the periods of the judges (Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthae), the kings (Samuel, David), and the prophets.
All these were men and women of great faith, though each had to endure great testing. They, as the writer says, “stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword…had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder…destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Hebrews 11:33-37).
In every age, men and women of faith were more often than not despised and persecuted by the world (even by the religious world!), but the Bible notes, parenthetically, that it was they “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). In God’s sight, they all “obtained a good report through faith” (Hebrews 11:39), and this is worth more than all the world, for it is the entrance into a far better and eternal world.
Note that faith is not a sentimental wishfulness but a strong confidence in God and His Word, through Jesus Christ, who is Himself “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Like those of past ages, we can also “run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1) through the faith He offers us.
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