“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 (RSV)
There are three words that I say way too often, and I know they are not pleasing to God. No, they’re not swear words, although I am guilty of that, and neither are they words of hatred. It’s the phrase, “I give up.” When I am very overwhelmed and frustrated, it’s the first phrase that flies out of my mouth. It’s worse than swearing because it is the complete expression of faithlessness. It’s like saying “ I don’t think God can help me,” and to express that sentiment is like a slap in His face.
I am trying to catch myself before I say those three words, because God rewards our faith, not our giving up.
The phrase “I give up” doesn’t even exist in the vocabulary of the language of faith.
It’s easy to trust God and have faith in all the good times, while receiving blessings, but it can also be short lived and shallow trust.
Through each hardship and trial in our lives, we are learning a new language, one that God prefers. It’s the language of faith which strengthens us through adversity.
The world shows gratitude to all kinds of heroes. We honor war heroes, civil rights heroes, first responder heroes, sports heroes, and much more, so why not honor the heroes of faith? Heroes of faith are believers who speak the language of faith fluently. They trust God, not based on what is seen but what is unseen.
The 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews is dedicated to some of those faith heroes. This chapter of Hebrews, is known as the Faith chapter, and it ranks among the most eloquent to be found in all of scripture. Just in reading the 13 verses of this chapter, is to be deeply moved by what people have both endured and accomplished by faith. This chapter not only defines faith, but describes those who lived the language of faith, which they spoke fluently.
The faith heroes in this chapter all believed for something without any visible proof, and their faith was pushed to the limit.
Noah, by faith, started a massive building project. Building an ark took time, sweat and perseverance when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky anywhere, and his entire neighborhood mocked him daily.
By faith, after hearing God’s call, Abraham left his home town to travel to a “promised land” where his “numerous” descendants would live, while he never had a descendant until he was 100 years old.
Moses’ mother, after hiding him for three months, finally placed her helpless baby in a waterproof basket. As he looked up at his mother, wanting to be picked up, she sent him down the Nile River, alone, by faith, to give him a chance to live.
Joshua and his army marched around the walls that were a stronghold, surrounding Jericho, by faith, causing the earth to open up and the walls to collapse, like sand into the ground.
Faith is a language, foreign to the carnal mind, because the carnal mind lives by its senses, where the mind believes only what the body’s senses can perceive. If they can’t see, hear, taste, touch or smell it, they don’t believe it.
Faith has nothing to do with those senses. It’s an assurance of what is not seen. It speaks into being, what is unseen, because it originates from an unseen place, within our spirit. We are also an eternal trinity of body, soul and spirit. Our soul is our mind and personality, but our spirit is the inner part of our being that connects with God.
God speaks every language in the world, but faith is the language that turns His head, raises His eyebrows and reaps a miraculous response. It’s the language that moves mountains, calms the storms and resurrects the dead. Faith originates within our spirits.
In this chapter we are told,
“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith has enabled those heroes of the faith to endure mockery, torture, imprisonment and death. Some were delivered and others refused deliverance, in order to obtain a better and eternal reward.
All these heroes gained God’s approval through their faith, even though some never saw the promises fulfilled in their own lifetime.
The endurance of their faith is what reaped their reward. They believed God for that something they didn’t see. In other words, they didn’t throw their hands up and say, “I give up.”
Let us practice the language of faith, that brings down strongholds, and
keeps us heading toward the promised land, even if it takes 100 years. It’s also the language that keeps our loved ones in God’s care as they travel the river of life.
Lord, teach us the language and vocabulary of an enduring faith that is weatherproof from the storms of life, and reaps an eternal reward. Amen