“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1

It’s easy to believe something when we see it with our own eyes.  You see your child trip and hurt themselves.  You don’t need the sibling to tell you they didn’t do it because you saw it with your own eyes.  You’re sure of it because you saw it and can believe it.  Faith is the opposite.  Faith is being absolutely certain of something we believe, even when we don’t see it.  That’s what God is trying to continually instill in us; faith- even when we can’t see.  Faith is a dangerous weapon for both believers and non-believers.  Dangerous in the sense that it can move mountains because our faith isn’t in a worthless human made idol, but in the living, all-powerful, all-sovereign, and all-good God.  

I’ve heard someone say that Hebrews 11 is the “faith hall of fame” or “hall of faith” and that’s exactly what it is.  It reiterates some of the miraculous things that God has done, by faith of those following God.  Right before the “hall of faith”, we are reminded to persevere in our faith.  “You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you know that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.  For in just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.  And, ‘but my righteous one will live by faith and I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.’” Hebrews 10:34-38  Do not throw away your confidence, continue to persevere and live by faith.  “My righteous one will live by faith”.  It is by faith we are called to live because it is by faith that mountains are moved.  

Faith is the driving force behind so much of what we do for God.  Faith that He is who he says he is and by faith we can trust that he is going to do what he says he’s going to do.  By faith, we can persevere and have confidence in what we are doing for the Lord.  Hebrews 11 follows our call to persevere in our faith by reminding us of all that God has done through his people, by faith.  Affirming us that our faith is more than just a saying, but a driving force to living a God-centered life.  Faith results in salvation.  What is it in your life that God is calling you to have faith about?  Has God placed a calling on your life that feels too extreme and you don’t know how He’s going to do it?  By faith, by prayerfully seeking the Lord and reading the word, God will help you, but the first component in that is having faith.  By faith.  

Read over Hebrews 11 and remind yourself of all the miraculous things God did through his people here on Earth, people just like you and me.  “By faith, Abraham when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he didn’t not know where he was going (obeyed and went, don’t miss that. God told Abraham what to do, even though he didn’t understand it, but he obeyed and took action).  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob who were heirs with him of the second promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  And by faith, even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise (God is faithful, he is not like your best friend who broke your trust.  God is faithful and he does what he says he will do.  Don’t mistake human error for God not coming through).  And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Hebrews 11:8-12  So while the world might have believed Abraham and Sarah would never have a child, our God said otherwise.  By faith, the unbelievable became a reality.  By faith, by obedience, by action, by trusting God, by listening to God and going, mountains were moved.  Remember, the same God that is prompting you to do something by faith is the same God that prompted Abraham to do what he did. 

We have more than the non-believer will ever have.  We have faith, not faith in the world or the authorities here on Earth, but faith in Jesus Christ that He will come back and will not delay.  We were reminded to wait on the Lord and trust that He’s not late or delayed in what He is doing, but He will come at the appointed time (Habakkuk 2:3).  We have faith in God, not in the world- we have hope, something this world will never bring you. 

Just like we are instructed to persevere a few verses before the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11, we are told to persevere following it as well.  “Therefore (what is that there for?), since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (all those faithful and obedient followers of God and present day Christians that are witnesses of God’s faithfulness), let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith”.  Hebrews 12:1-2  So by faith, we can persevere.  By faith, as we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can finish the race God has set forth before us.  By faith, we can do whatever it is God is placing on our hearts.  By faith, we can trust that God is going to do what he says he’s going to do- just look at what he’s already done.  Someone might test your faith by asking “have you actually seen God?” and you can rebuke those questions by faith because we have a great cloud of witnesses of God’s faithfulness.  We can go back to Hebrews 11 and see the way God has delivered his promises and remember that “by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.” Galatians 5:5