Blind Faith Sculpted into a Bold Reality

Hebrews 11, a chapter of the Bible that has left an imprint on my heart.  It brings me a sense of heaviness but also makes me more aware of the goodness and intentionality of my God. If you've ever questioned the importance or relevance of the Old Testament, I encourage you to read this scripture for yourself. This chapter showed me how carefully planned out God's map of life is for his children. That nothing written in this book was mistaken. Reading through this, it is so clear that God had each of us in mind as he wholeheartedly breathed life into every word written on these pages that our souls are starving for.

This chapter gave me a look inside the hearts of God's Old Testament people. I was able to see what faith deeply rooted in the fold of God looked like through ordinary people just like me. People who went through unbearably painful seasons of life, seasons full of new direction, difficult realities, and what seemed like impossible commands ordered by God. But these people stood there, in the midst of their uncertainty. Knee deep in the storms of life, completely stripped of their fleshly desires because they knew that their creator was the one who placed them in this temporary storm. They were fully surrendered to God's will and they ever so tightly gripped onto the hand of God and made themselves fully available to be used. _________________________________________________________________________

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and proof about what we do not see.

H E B R E W S  1 1  :  1

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What would it look like if we lived like we firmly believed that God's promises wouldn’t let go of us? Take a look at these testimonies of people like you and me who completely gave themselves away to the Lord in order to seek out their greatest success.

Abraham was called and immediately obeyed as he set out to go where the Lord had called him to even though he didn't know where he was going. He did this because he was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose architect and builder is God. (11:8-10)

Sarah was unable to have children and even though she was past childbearing age, the Lord blessed her with the power to conceive, simply because she considered that the one who had promised was faithful. (11:11-12)

Abraham was tested when the Lord ordered him to sacrifice Isaac. He considered God to be able to rise someone from the dead and therefore he canceled the sacrifice. (11:17-19)

Jacob was dying and in the midst of this he continued to bless the sons of Joseph and worship the Lord with the strength he had left.  (11:21)

Moses chose to suffer with the people of God rather then enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. For he considered God's treasures to be better than those of the world. He was looking ahead to the reward. (11:27)

This scripture shows us the deep suffering people went through and how sweetly rewarding it was because everything they did was done for the glory of God. These testimonies are what make the blindness of faith a real and visible reality of what God's promises look like. It was no accident that God placed Abraham, Joshua, Sarah, etc. where they were. Guys, our names were engraved into God’s creation plan before the foundations of the earth were even a thing. God's heart has always been centered on his children and He uses every single testimony to build up His kingdom as well as His kingdom builders. Every single word of this chapter is a fresh outpouring of New Testament promises coming from Old Testament people. The same love that was pouring onto these people is the same love that is alive today in 2020. Every page that holds the beauty of his breath is living proof of his redeeming word. When we live a life of bold faith, we are reflecting the very nature of who our mighty God is!

You are so loved.

Morgan