Without Wavering: Resilient Faith Built on the Promises of GodSample

By Faith: Even in the Hard Things

I've always wanted to see wild horses in person, the ones that seem to run with unrelenting courage and strength. Leaving behind whatever was and only seeing what is ahead.

These horses make me think of the faith we see on display in Hebrews 11. A faith fueled by trust—running the race ahead well, knowing we are being guided by a God who is trustworthy and good, and keeping our eyes on the “better place” that awaits us. Yesterday, we saw examples of this unwavering faith from the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah (Heb. 11:4-16). Today we’re going to jump back into Hebrews 11 and the “by faith” encouragement held there. Let’s pick up where we left off.

Like the examples we looked at yesterday, the list of “by faith” moments in Hebrews 11 continues with more examples—including Abraham (whom we’ll look at more closely later in our study) and on through the rest of the patriarchs, Moses, the exodus out of Egypt, and Joshua’s conquest of the promised land. Most surprising in this list is the example of Rahab, a non-Israelite (Gentile) and a prostitute, who had faith in God because of His power and glory on display through the exodus events. The common thread through all these examples is trust in the Lord that motivates action.

The people in Hebrews 11 are often referred to as “heroes of the faith.” We typically think of heroes as the strongest, most beautiful, richest, most powerful, and so on—they are the best and most capable among us, and they are the ones doing the rescuing. But when we read through Hebrews 11, we’re reminded the “heroes” of faithfulness are far from perfect, their lives were far from easy, and they needed a Rescuer. They were like you and me, people living life on mission in the mundane. But we get to see the fruit of their choosing obedience and faithfulness. Just as Jesus called them to faithfulness, so He calls us to a life of faithfulness in Him. Although that life is often costly and it comes with its own set of sacrifices, the reward far outweighs the cost.

Turn to Hebrews 11 again and read verses 17-38.