Hebrews 11:1-6
1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
4By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Have you ever thought about how many things you place your faith in every day without being able to see them?
When you say goodbye and tell people you’ll see them later, you have faith that your heart will continue beating.
When you are speeding in your car through a green light at an intersection, you have faith that other drivers on the cross street will see the red light and stop.
When you order food at a restaurant, you trust that it was prepared in the kitchen without any health code violations.
At its core, faith is trusting in what you cannot see. It’s confidence that what you hope will be, actually will be. So we trust that we will live another day, that the other lights on the road will turn red before ours turns green, and that the cook washes his hands.
We trust these things because they have proven trustworthy over and over again. We place our faith in things that we cannot see every day without a second thought and don’t find it odd at all.
So why do people get hung up on putting faith in God?
Christianity is not a baseless faith. It’s not a blind faith. It is trusting in the God of the universe who has proven faithful time and time again.
That’s why the writer of Hebrews immediately gives examples of past heroes of faith and later continues in the chapter listing many more examples. We can have confidence in our faith in God because God has proven himself trustworthy.
We can’t always see how God is working. But he continues to work. And, as many people will tell you, the more you trust in God, the more he will prove trustworthy.
Thought for Today: No matter what, you need to believe that he is behind the scenes cooking up something good.
Today’s Prayer: God, help me to trust you even when I can’t see how you are working. Help me have the faith to know that as long as I follow you, you will continue to pull through like you always do.
Sun Valley Community Church Devotional 