Living by Faith - March 7

[petprophet]

Living by Faith

'...all these... gained [God's] approval....' Hebrews 11:39

Hebrews chapter 11 is often referred to as 'the gallery of faith'. Two groups are mentioned. Group one '...escaped... the sword...' (Hebrews 11:34 NAS). Group two '...were put to death with the sword...' (Hebrews 11:37 NAS). Now we'd all like to be in group one, but the Bible says both groups '...gained [God's] approval through their faith...' (Hebrews 11:39 NAS). The Message paraphrases this Scripture: '...these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance...' (Hebrews 11:13 TM). Their faith kept them focused! Sometimes faith is an instrument of change;at other times it's a means of survival. It's what gives you the tenacity to trust God when His will seems to clash with yours. Often your faith is perfected more when things don't change than when they do. You don't need faith for what you can see or have already attained; you need it when life makes no sense, when you can't explain why the baby dies, or the job falls through, or the marriage isn't working, or the wicked prosper, or the good die, or the righteous suffer, or the kind receive no comfort. We think there's only one good outcome - the one we want. No, we must trust the character and plan of God; who He is and what He does. We must see Him at work in whatever comes our way. And even when we can't, we must trust Him, knowing '...God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose...' (Romans 8:28 NLT). Did you get that? Everything!

Bob Gass