My Faith Journey
Hebrews 11:1 – 40
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Your new journey started because you believe in the message that Jesus died for your sins, and it is only through Him that we can be saved. Your new journey is a journey of faith, trusting in God’s promises.
What is Faith? (v.1-3)
Faith is the confidence we place in the trustworthiness of God. It is the conviction that what God says is true and that His promises will be fulfilled. This chapter introduces men and women from the Old Testament who had the spiritual vision to accept God’s calling, believing that He would do what He promised. Faith allows us to treat the things we hope for as real, as if we already possess them. It provides unshakable evidence that the unseen spiritual blessings of Christianity are absolute, certain, and real. Faith brings the future into the present and makes the invisible visible.
Holding on to the Trustworthiness of God (v.13-16)
Many men and women of faith in the Old Testament did not live to see the fulfilment of all of God’s promises. A prime example is Abraham. While he witnessed some promises come to pass, such as the birth of Isaac at the age of 100, he did not see the full realization of God’s covenant: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). This promise was ultimately fulfilled through Jesus Christ, who offers every person on earth the blessing of knowing God. Abraham looked beyond the visible to what God sees, trusting that the Lord would surely fulfil His promises.
There is a Better Place for Us (v. 39 – 40)
There are still many men and women of faith that are not listed, otherwise this chapter will be never-ending. Your name may also be included. These men and women were looking for something much better. They refuse to nest themselves comfortably, but chose to set their hearts as pilgrims, looking forward to the promises of God.
Application and Prayer
I have chosen to trust in God’s promise of eternal life for all who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for my sake. I believe Jesus rose again to give me the assurance that He has conquered death. I am make alive through Him. I choose to put my faith in the redeeming work of Christ and in the promises of God. Amen.
“Faith begins where possibilities end. If it’s possible, then there’s no glory for God in it.”
Hebrews 11:1 - 16
11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.