HRC New Testament Reading Plan: daily NT reading devotional thoughts.
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By 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.
Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV
Are you living by faith despite your challenges?
In Hebrews 11, the author presents the final of his five exhortations: live by faith. He presents examples of men and women of faith to encourage his readers. Some of these we know well: Abraham, Moses, and David. Others, however, are less well known: Abel, Enoch, Barak and Jephthah. Some may surprise us, like Gideon who needed convincing by a fleece test to believe God’s promise, and Samson, who was known for his wild disobedience to his parents. Yet all are commended for their faith despite the difficult challenges they endured.
The warning part of the exhortation may be the challenges we’ll face when we live by faith. Verses 33-38 discusses some of the challenges of the men and women of faith in the past, and the readers were also well acquainted with persecution. In their difficulties, they continued to have trust in God. “The world was not worthy of them”!
The encouragement of the exhortation is that we also can have faith through trials and that we have received the promise that they didn’t receive in their lifetimes. Reading just a little ahead into chapter 12:1-3, we are encouraged to fix our eyes on Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners but sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Our Great High Priest fulfills the promises of God so that we will not grow weary and lose heart from our challenges but will run the race with perseverance.
Questions:
- Choose a few of those mentioned in the Hebrews 11 “hall of faith” list and read the old testament passages that describe them, especially for the event or traits mentioned in Hebrews. What challenges did they face? How did their response show great faith?
- v. 40 says that God had something better planned for us. What are all the good things that we have in Jesus?
- What are the top challenges you’re facing right now? What does it mean for you personally to live by faith in these circumstances? How can living by faith in this way help you face your challenges?