Living a Hebrews Faith
October 31, 2023
You know when you learn something that seems small or irrelevant but you just can’t seem to stop thinking about it? I try to pause for a minute when this happens because sometimes I think God is so sweetly whispering something to me. His timing is perfect when He gives revelations to His children.
Something I learned from Paul David Tripp’s New Morning Mercies devotional has been on my heart more and more in this season of trusting my Father in a deeper way. True trust in our Savior requires an intimate and active faith. Faith cannot only be knowledge and theology held internally, but real faith lives out what we believe and know to be true. “Faith in God is more than believing the right things. It’s living the right way because you believe the right things” (October 5).
“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith… By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, though he did not know where he was going. By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11: 1-4, 7-10).
God accepts us as we are, but God doesn’t accept our fleshly desire to stay where He finds us. Faith reaches to the darkest depths, leading us to submission of His calling for us. Faith in Him redirects our worship from the world to the Creator of the world. Faith results in obedience to a good Father who knows what’s best for His children. We see this in the lives of Abel, Noah, and Abraham. God’s Word focuses on what His people did, not the details of their theology. Does your faith know Jesus and lead you to keel at the foot of His throne? Does your faith reshape your life?
Faith requires our action. It requires us to suit up in the battle and stand firm. It requires us to glorify God when everything is going well and when everything feels hard. It requires our trust and our surrender in His goodness. Even the definition of the word “waiting” begins by saying “the action of” and is a verb that is not void of participation on our end. In every season of life - seasons of fighting, seasons of waiting, seasons of growing, seasons of enjoying - we are called to live by faith.
“And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, grained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight” (Hebrews 11:32-34).
The faith of every person in chapter eleven is followed by an action that speaks the name of Jesus. If this chapter in the book of Hebrews were to go on and on and on, listing every believer and the actions produced by their faith, what would follow your name? What act of sincere faith would mark your submission to our almighty God?
I’m in awe that I get to love and be so completely loved by a God whose grace and mercy covers all my sin and shortcomings. I’m in awe that He pursues me and captivates my heart despite my brokenness and sin. He found me in that dark place and called me to Him, saving my life and my eternity. How much more can I offer Him my life by living in faith, chasing Him and, therefore, running far from what He rescued me from?
The very next chapter of Hebrews calls us to endurance in keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. Jesus endured death on the cross to secure eternity in Heaven for us. How are we enduring the faith He calls us to, desiring to glorify His name in our every step? What would follow your name in chapter eleven of Hebrews? What act of sincere faith would mark your submission to our almighty God?
To my First Love,
May I daily lay down my life to You in obedient acts of faith… acts of faith that are oh so small in comparison to what You did for me on the cross. To You I owe my everything.
Amen