Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Not that it is difficult to please God without faith, it is Impossible to please Him without Faith.
What is Faith and how does one know if they have the kind of Faith that God requires?
As we examine the list of people in Hebrews 11 who are called people of great faith, we see that all of these men and women had failures in their lives. According to many churches today and their requirements for service, most of these listed in Hebrews 11 would not be qualified to serve in leadership at all.
- Noah was a drunk
- Abraham a liar
- Sarah, a doubter of God’s promises
- Isaac, a deceiver
- Jacob, a deceiver
- Joseph, prideful
- Moses, anger, murderer
- The Children of Israel, complainers and doubters
- Rahab, a prostitute
- Gideon, a doubter of God’s promises, fearful
- Barak, a doubter of God’s promises, he hesitated when God instructed him
- Samson, had problems with lust and sexual sin
- Jepthtah, made a foolish vow, cost his daughter’s life
- David, liar, adulterer, murderer
Despite their failures, all of these named above, went on to be listed in Hebrews 11 by the Holy Spirit as great men and women of God. The fact is that faith does not mean that a person will never make a mistake. Faith is defined by those who continue to trust God even though they have moments of failure and lapses in their faith.
When Peter denied that he even knew Jesus, after he recovered, his return to Jesus and final story is one of great inspiration to all of us today who often deny Jesus in the things we say and do in our life. Jesus told Peter that after he recovered, to go and use what he learned to “strengthen his brothers.”
Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.
When we fail and then return to Jesus in repentance and sorrow for our sin, that is faith. It takes faith to believe that God will forgive us and cleanse us of our sins when we fail.
A person who will achieve status as a person known by God with great faith, must establish early on the fact that they believe what God says and that God always does what is right, good, and Holy. In every circumstance of our life, we believe that the Lord only has the best of intentions towards us. That when a trial is over, a time of tremendous loss, a period of time when we are hurt, betrayed, lost, or broken by people, that the Lord will restore us and bless our life once again.
That is what the Bible means by the first verse of Hebrews 11:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The things that are eternal and will last forever, are the good working of God in our life, despite our inability to see it, sense it, or experience at the present time. When we cannot see any evidence of God’s goodness in our life, we continue to believe that He is good and that He has something wonderful for us in a short time. Until that time, we continue to trust Him and wait patiently for the days of refreshing.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In your walk with Jesus today, remember that if you have failed, gone through a time of great loss, been betrayed by a close friend or family member, or have current doubts about the Lord’s love for you, do not lose that last glimmer of hope in the goodness of God. Get back up from where you have failed, and come back and trust and serve Jesus again.
You shall see a full manifestation of all His Love for you in time if you will hold on to your belief in His goodness. This light affliction is only to last for a moment, but in a little while everything will come back into clear view and you will once again see and experience all the blessings of God in your life, if you will not give up and continue to trust Him. That is the essence of what faith is.
Rob Robinson
