By Faith

Erica Botha is sharing our devotional thoughts this week! If you don’t know her, take a moment and stop by the contributors page.

I sat down to read my devotions one morning, and it was Hebrews 11.  I thought, “Ok great, the Hall of Fame of Faith.  I know most of the people and the stories that go with them.  What am I supposed to get out of this today?”  I got nothing.  I finished reading and thought, “Ok, nothing new.”  I was a bit disappointed.  Nothing jumped out at me.  I went about my day.

Within a few weeks, Hebrews 11 came back around to me.  I started reading, and it was as if the words, by faith were neon signs jumping off the pages.  I was struck by how often the phrase was used.  Individuals in the Bible stepped out in faith, and something I had missed before was the mention of the Israelites as a group stepping out in faith.  

I had also missed the people too numerous to include, but people who had done hard things by faith.  As I reread the passage, I was also struck by the fact that many who had to step out in faith did not see the end results of their stepping out in faith.  They did not see the blessing or eternal impact of their willingness to move in faith.

A question immediately came to mind, “When has God asked me to step out in faith?”  Two answers that came to mind were completing my master’s degree and starting a specialized program in our school.  Another thought immediately came to mind, “What is God asking me to step out in faith with?”  I don’t know the answer to that question yet.  

Stepping out in faith is not always easy.  I like to have all the answers, to know exactly what is going to happen.  God doesn’t always show us what the end results are.  In the Bible, He sometimes shared what the end result would be, but not always.  Sometimes He gives us a glimpse, but often He wants us to step out before we see what is coming.  

Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac, fully believing that God would provide a sacrifice in Isaac’s place.  He stepped out in faith, and he stepped out in faith more than once.  Hebrews 11 records three times that Abraham stepped out in faith.  The point is that God didn’t ask him to step out in faith only one time.  He provided Abraham with more than one opportunity to step out in faith.  

The same is true for us.  God may ask us to step out in faith more than once.  We can always trust when we step out in faith, that God is always good, and He is always working even when we don’t understand the purpose or plan.