Here's a new devotion that I wrote. It's based on the passage below. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.
Hebrews 11:13-22 [Contemporary English Version]
Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth. When people talk this way, it is clear they are looking for a place to call their own. If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time. But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. This is why God wasn't ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them.
Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son, would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death.
Isaac had faith, and he promised blessings to Jacob and Esau. Later, when Jacob was about to die, he leaned on his walking stick and worshiped. Then because of his faith he blessed each of Joseph's sons. And right before Joseph died, he had faith that God would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. So he told them to take his bones with them.
Years ago, I had a good friend named Charlie, and we used to discuss all kinds of stuff related to the Bible. And even though we generally agreed, there was one area where our interpretation was very different. You see, Charlie believed that Christians needed to be certain about God. Doubt just didn’t jive with being a believer. To follow Jesus, you had to know. But I disagreed, because I believe that God has called us to have faith, not knowledge, and faith is trust. And although our ability and willingness to have faith is certainly based on what we know, ultimately trust is always a decision. It’s like stepping into a room that’s pitch black, trusting that there’s a floor on the other side of the door. Now, for me, that’s what faith is all about.
And I think this was what the writer of Hebrews was suggesting about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Each made a decision to trust that God was present in their lives and that he would accomplish what he’d promised.
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