January 14. Hebrews 11
Hebrews 11: Making our Father Proud
There is nothing like the feeling of making our Father proud! Sadly, having lost my father at a young age, I’ve never had the chance to experience that feeling fully. For me it was making my mother proud and seeing her face light up. I did have a step father who I tried to make proud, and I’m sure he has been over the years but it just wasn’t the same.
My faith is what makes God proud. It’s what brings him to commend and bless us. Our faith brings God to bless us with the righteousness of Jesus when we choose to follow Jesus. We are made righteous by simply believing that God sent Jesus to save the world and then living according to that belief.
The men and women of Hebrews 11 are all amazing in each of their individual ways, and they all have a few things in common. They had the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (the definition of faith) and they all died not having received the promise in their lifetime. Their choices in life were driven by their belief that God was going to fulfill his promises. Ultimately God fulfilled his promises through Jesus. All these men & women were made perfect with us through Jesus (v.40).
What does all this mean for us? We can do it! Our faith in God matters to God. He is pleased when we are faithful - we are assured of the things hoped for and have a conviction of things not yet seen. It will be made evident by the choices we make in life. Every choice we make can be made with faith as the basis of why we do it. Where we work… what school we attend… what city we live in… who we share our faith with… how we treat those people we are in relationships with… how we love our spouse… how we love our children… how we train our children… and so on and so forth… Our faith makes all the difference in the world for all of these things.
So what faithful decisions do you need to make today? ALL OF THEM! Remember Heb 11.6 "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” And Romans 14.23 "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
God is your biggest fan! Your Faith makes him more proud than any earthly father could possibly be for their childrens successes. All you have to do is believe that he exists and allow your life to be led by Him in everything you do.
Have a fantastic day!