Something Better

"These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

Hebrews 11:39-40

 

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is sort of like the faith Hall of Fame.  The writer describes situations and circumstances men and women from the Old Testament remained faithful to God during.  Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Abel, and Noah are mentioned throughout this chapter, to name a few.  They all had a few things in common that are told to us in Hebrews.  The first first thing in common with all of these people of great faith is that, in reality, they are just ordinary people.  Oftentimes, I think when we read the Bible we can be easily captivated by the stories themselves, and the age of when they took place.  It can be difficult at times, especially with the Old Testament, to relate some of these things to our lives today.  But one thing for sure, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  People like me, and people like you.  He uses us for His purpose to bring a message of hope, grace, and love to His people, and for that we should be humbled and grateful.  The second thing to highlight about the faithful people discussed in this chapter is the specific commonality of their faith tasks that are mentioned.  All of the tasks mentioned with these people have one thing in common.  "Yet none of them received what had been promised".  They all walked by faith, which is "a confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1).  But none of them saw it!  The 'it' being the promise that God had made with them.  They never lived long enough, or remained on earth long enough to see it.  They simply trusted God that the promise is true because of the One making it.  Then, they made a decision to walk out their faith in action, trusting God, although none of them ever got to see the promise being fulfilled on this side.  How often are you walking with Jesus, feeling like He has put a promise in your heart, and yet you don't see it?  Do you ever feel like in your faith, you are doing the actions, but not seeing the results?  Here's the thing... we ALL feel like that in certain seasons following Christ.  It is in our nature to have a desire to see results in the things we are doing, but this should never be our motivation.  Our motivation is, and always should be grace.  Because of what Jesus has done for us, and because of what He is doing in and through us, we have a passion to follow Him in faith.  Meaning we take action in our lives, motivated primarily by His grace, not by what we will get or what we should be seeing.  Sometimes, God makes it so that we can see His promise being fulfilled in our lives or those around us, and in those times we praise Him.  This is why we are constantly reminded to persevere in the faith.  The final thing in common with these forefathers of the faith, which is also in common for us is that, "God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect".  We walk by faith trusting that following Jesus will be difficult on this side of eternity, but that we have something way better planned for each and every one of us on the other side of glory.  This is why Paul would pen in 1Cor. 2:9, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”.  Today, realize that although you may not see the promise or the purpose, trust that God is working in and through your life.  Pray and ask the Lord to give you the strength and guidance to persevere in the faith, even in those seasons of doubt or difficulty.  Continue to press on to the mark of your calling today, faithfully trusting that God has something amazing planned for you on the other side of glory!  Love you all!  Praying for you and yours!  Have a blessed day, it's your choice!