Hebrews 11:1-16
Be Still: Come Holy Spirit. I pause to enter your presence now. Amen
Read: Hebrews 11:1-16
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (vv 13-16)
Encounter: In John C Maxwell’s book, Running with Giants, he sets up an image of our faith being played out in an arena, surrounded by the great men and women of faith we read about here, in the stands, cheering us on. What I find astonishing about their faith is that they didn’t see all of God’s promises fulfilled while they were alive. Yet they trusted anyway. They lived with open hands, believing that God was still working, even when the evidence felt incomplete. Faith, here, isn’t about getting everything we hope for – it’s about trusting the One who made the promises.
The passage says they admitted they were ‘foreigners and strangers on earth.’ They understood that this world, good as it can be, was never meant to be home. Their hearts were set on something deeper, something eternal. They could have gone back to what was familiar, safe, and comfortable – but they didn’t. Instead, they kept looking forward.
Apply: This challenges us to ask where our deepest loyalty lies. Are we clinging to what’s comfortable, or living for what’s promised? Faith keeps us moving, eyes lifted, hearts anchored in the better home God is preparing. If your faith feels shaken today, ask God to gift you the same endurance and hope that these men and women of faith lived with so that you can live confidently now – and for the age to come.
Devote: Thank you God that I can put my faith in you and take inspiration from those that have gone before me. Help me to live in hope for all that you will do and with gratitude for all that you have done.