This has been the resounding question in my head since I read Hebrews 11 last night.
"Now faith is being SURE of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see."
How many times have we heard this verse? There is at least one sermon a year about this chapter. Don't get me wrong, the sermons are always fantastic, but this chapter hit me in a way that it had never hit me before.
Being sure of what we hope for... What better could this be talking about than the hope of living in Heaven with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior for eternity! BUT... so much more can be taken from that little phrase. Yes, we are SURE of our hope of living with Christ, but what else do we hope for that requires the faith this verse talks about? In retrospect, nothing else compares. We hope for things such as a job, spouse, family, health, etc... But those sure aren't things I want to put my faith in, yet on a regular basis I find myself thinking and being sure of those things rather than lasting things.
Why is that?
Certain of what we do not see... Certainty of Christ in our lives is about as certain as we can get. We can't be certain we got the job that we wanted... We can be certain of what is going to happen in the future. All of those we cannot see, but what we MUST be certain of is Christ. Even though we can't see Him, He CAN see us, and is certainly leading us on His path for our life.
"By faith Abel..."
"By faith Enoch..."
"By faith Noah..."
"By faith Abraham..."
"By faith Isaac..."
"By faith Jacob..."
"By faith Joseph..."
"By faith Moses..."
"By faith the people..."
"By faith the prostitute Rahab..."
By faith Grace...
Can I honestly be described using those three simple words, "By faith Grace..." What would come after that? Has my life been whereas God can say that "By faith, when Grace was called to Bristol, TN she went and obeyed even though it wasn't her plan." or.. "By faith Grace, even though she is single at a Christian college, lived her life for Me because I have the best plan for her."
All things to dwell on, as I look on the lives of so many monumental people in the Christian faith.
Abel... was killed, yet was known as a righteous man.
Enoch... was spared death and was commended as one who pleased God.
Noah... had faith for something he had never witnessed.
Abraham... had an attitude of expectancy.
Isaac... blessed.
Jacob... worshiped.
Joseph... saved the people of Isral.
Moses... regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as GREATER VALUE.
The people... wandered and struggled, yet still followed Christ.
Rahab... was obedient.
Grace.....
"God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." [vs. 40]
I look forward to seeing the big picture of God's plan... But I am SURE of my hope that He will use me, and CERTAIN His plan is much better than mine ever could be.
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