Last weekend at Church Family Worship we had a fun and challenging conversation about faith. We looked at different characters in the bible and their examples of living by faith. Living by faith is a struggle that we all walk through, and we all have times in our lives when we walk through valleys. Those are the times when our faith is pushed to its limits. When I feel my faith being pushed to its limits I am so thankful for the examples of faith we see in the bible.
Hebrews 11 is filled with stories of those who have come before us who lived by faith in very difficult circumstances. If you haven’t read this passage in a while, I encourage you to read it and be encouraged. The first verse of Hebrews 11 always challenges me.
This ESV says it this way.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
In other words, faith is believing in something that we cannot see. There are many times in our faith journey when we cannot see the next step or the way out of a hard season that we are in.
C.S Lewis describes faith like this.
“Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances.”
Our circumstances and feelings are in constant motion. In this life we have good days and bad days, we have ups and downs, and we experience amazing joy and indescribable heartache. Regardless of what we are experiencing and feeling, faith is holding on to Jesus and our faith in Him.
I love how the author of Hebrews wraps up after the many examples of Godly people living by faith.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
The author ends with a challenge. The challenge for us is to push through all the distractions and sin and continue to run the race before us. I don’t know everyone’s circumstances and story but Jesus does and He is our example to keep pushing forward.