When Anita passed away in her sleep on her ninetieth birthday, the quietness of her departure reflected the quietness of her life. A widow, she had been devoted to her children and grandchildren and to being a friend to younger women in the church.
Anita wasn’t particularly remarkable in talent or achievement. But her deep faith in God inspired those who knew her. “When I don’t know what to do about a problem,” a friend of mine said, “I don’t think about the words of a famous preacher or author. I think about what Anita would say.”
Many of us are like Anita—ordinary people living ordinary lives. Our names will never be in the news, and we won’t have monuments built in our honor. But a life lived with faith in Jesus is never ordinary. Some of the people listed in Hebrews 11 were not named (vv. 35–38); they walked the path of obscurity and didn't receive the reward promised to them in this life (v. 39). Yet, because they obeyed God, their faith wasn’t in vain. God used their lives in ways that went beyond their lack of notoriety (v. 40).
If you feel discouraged about the seeming ordinary state of your life, remember that a life lived by faith in God has an impact throughout eternity. Even if we’re ordinary, we can have an extraordinary faith.
Read: Hebrews 11:1, 32-40 (NIV)
Read: Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Faith in Action
11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope fori and assurance about what we do not see.j
Read: Hebrews 11:32-40 (NIV)
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,j Barak,k Samsonl and Jephthah,m
about Davidn and Samuelo and the prophets,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms,p administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,q
34 quenched the fury of the flames,r and escaped the edge of the sword;s whose weakness was turned to strength;t
and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.u
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again.v There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging,w and even chains and imprisonment.x
37 They were put to death by stoning;e y they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.z They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,a destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in cavesb and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commendedc for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,d
40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with use would they be made perfect.f
INSIGHT
- In what area of your daily life might God be calling you to exercise faith in Him?
- How can He help you be more obedient and faithful in what you do every day?
Hebrews 11 is referred to as the “Hall of Faith.” Writing to encourage Jewish believers in Jesus to remain faithful in the midst of suffering brought about by severe persecution, the unnamed author lists specific examples of people who’ve lived “by faith” (vv. 4–31). He closes this chapter with an overview of countless unnamed faithful people (vv. 32–38) “commended for their faith” but who haven’t yet “received what had been promised” (v. 39). Hebrews 11 is a reminder that the only way to live and to please God is by faith (v. 6). Those who lived “by faith” chose to live as “foreigners and strangers on earth” (v. 13). They refused to return to the sinful life they’d left behind but longed “for a better country—a heavenly one” (v. 16).
PRAYER
Faithful God, please help me to trust and obey You always. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!!
Read: Hebrews 11:1, 32-40 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 30-31; Philippians 4
