BLESSED ASSURANCE
Opening Prayer
Holy Spirit, please use Scripture to build my faith today. Give me a greater understanding of God’s love for me and of his power at work in and through me.
Read HEBREWS 11:1–7
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Faith in Action
11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 11:5 Gen. 5:24
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What do you have—or need—faith for? How would you describe the difference that faith makes in your life and where would you be without it?So, we have arrived at Hebrews 11, this wonderful chapter detailing many Old Testament heroes, what they did and the faith they had. Today’s reading contains three of the earliest: Abel, who made a proper, acceptable sacrifice to God; Enoch, who walked faithfully with God; and Noah, whose ark meant that the future that God had planned could take place (see Genesis 4–9 for their stories).
The reading also reminds us that faith ‘is our handle on what we can’t see’ (v. 1, The Message). God’s creative power is believed in by faith. Faith speaks into the future (v. 4), and when we believe in God, he is pleased (v. 6). One thought, however: it’s tempting to think that to please God our faith has to be of a magnitude like that of these characters. Jesus said even a mustard seed of faith can achieve great things (Luke 17:5, 6); that’s comforting to remember when, as I once heard a past SU National Director say, ‘faith is sometimes like holding on by your fingertips—and you bite your nails.’
Apply
If you feel your faith is only just holding on today, remember that we please God even with a tiny amount of trust in him.
Closing prayer
Lord God, you are altogether trustworthy in all things. Thank you that you welcome and honor my expressions and actions of faith, no matter how weak or small. As you work in and through me, I look to you to strengthen and build my confidence in you.
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