Examples of Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Faith is one of those words that gets thrown at me more often than I can catch it.

I know I want to be faithful, I know faith is good, above all I know God is faithful -

but what in the world does that mean? Of course, it's probably nothing in this world.

"... without faith it is impossible to please God."

Okay, I get that.

This verse goes on to say that faith means people come to God because they believe that He exists and rewards those who come to Him. The rest of this chapter is an amazing list of things people have done in faith. Our whole history is painted by bold, faithful actions and I want to learn from them.

"They did not receive the thing promised,

only welcomed them from a distance."

This section mentions Abraham and Jacob, who were still worshipping God and encouraging others in their dying moments. These encouragements are the catalyst for a domino affect of faithful acts done by one person after another. So maybe I need to look closer at what God is doing in other people's lives to be encouraged and to see what I should do in response. I think I also need to take this part seriously because acting in faith requires a trust in God. It especially means not acting only because I think I will get what God promised, but because those who follow me might.

"By faith the people passed through the Red Sea, as on dry land...

By faith the walls of Jericho fell."

My prayer is that I may take on these stories as my past, as my history, as my example. May I follow and trust God so fast that each step I take is a step in faith. I don't know how to do all the things that He has called me to do, but I truly believe everything is better for it. May I act in faith so that someday I learn what it truly means, and so those coming after me may be better because of it.

"These were all commended for their faith, yet

none of them received what had been promised.

God had planned something better for us so that

only together with us would they be made perfect."

H11:1-2, 6, 13, 29, 30, 39-40