Day 28: The Call to Faith
Scripture to meditate on: Hebrews 11:1 The Definition of Faith
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Devotional:
Reading Hebrews 11:1 from different bible versions, the definition of Faith in God can be paraphrased:
- The confidence and trust we’ve in God to do what He promises according to His will
- Our response to God’s Word, His will and ability…our response is made obvious by our actions
- Our guarantee that God always answers – we believe before we see (Hebrews 11:6)
- God’s Word (His promises in Christ Jesus) is our evidence of things not yet seen
- An inner conviction that what God promises, He is able to perform, what he begins, He finishes
Reading this bible verse reminds me of my sports’ (soccer) fan experience. I follow the English Premier League as an ardent fan. Due to the difference in time zones, it is not always practical to watch live games, so I watch replays. Thankfully, I can know the results from the games before I can watch the replays because I receive notifications on my phone. How does news of my team’s victory affect my watching of the game? How do I react if my team played poorly in the first half of the game? Do I get nervous? No, not if I am confident of the outcome. I would know that a turnaround was on the way. I would have the confidence that no matter how bad it may look, something would have to happen to give my team the victory. In fact, instead of becoming nervous, I am expectant, anticipating that turnaround moment because my team already won!
Paul, as an example, had this complete confidence = faith in God’s Word, when he said in Acts 27:25, “… I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.”
Hebrews 11:1, therefore encourages while challenging us as followers of Jesus, regarding our Faith in God and Trust in His Word. There will be moments in life when things look good, and moments when things do not look so good, but in the end, because of God’s immutable promises, we take comfort. We are encouraged when we pray and we remain confident that in Christ all will work together for our good.
As we remember Christ’s birth, we have hope, because we know without a doubt that God cannot lie when He makes a promise, and He perfectly finishes whatever He starts (Hebrews 6:18; Numbers 23:19).
Questions to ponder:
- What does this passage say about God?
- What does this passage say about me or my relationships?
- What should I do in light of this passage?
