Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 11:1,2[1]
Now we’ve come to one of the great words that defines all of life for everyone. Yes, you heard me correctly. Everyone, and I mean everyone, not only has faith but they make daily decisions about their lives because of their faith.
Lots of our daily decisions are not based on what can prove or what we know but based on faith. Almost everything we do and choose is made because of faith. Faith drives what we believe. What we think is true. Here are some simple examples from life that show faith is mixed into our daily lives.
Go to the grocery store and read the ingredients on the package. We might put it in the cart or put it back because of what the label says. That action was based on faith. We have no way to prove what’s in that package, so we’re believing what we can’t prove. That’s faith.
Sit in a car and turn on the key. That’s an act of faith. We didn’t check the battery to make sure it has a charge. We didn’t walk around the car to make sure all four tires were filled. We didn’t even look at the fuel gauge. We took it all by faith and turned the key.
Pick up your drive-through coffee order. Do you sit there and pull out everything, checking if it’s exactly what you ordered? Do you taste the coffee to make sure that it has the right number of sweeteners and creams? How do you know if it’s the decaf you ordered? No, we pull away by faith.
We also make all the big decisions of life by faith too. There’s no test to verify that someone loves us. There’s no proof that the people managing our savings and stocks won’t do something dishonest. There’s no guarantee that the person we just voted for won’t change their mind and do something we really hate.
But the writer is telling the Hebrews that there’s a different kind of faith. A faith that’s not built on rumors or feelings. It’s much stronger than that. You still can’t prove it like a math problem, but there’s plenty of evidence for it. He uses two words to describe this kind of faith.
Confidence. Faith in Jesus is built on a solid foundation. It’s like the receipt that you get after paying for something. So, if they stop you at the door, you can show them something that came from the payment. It’s the title to a house or car that’s stamped “Paid in Full.”
Assurance. Another part of faith in Jesus are all the experiences that prove he’s with us. Over and over, we come to Jesus in our time of need, and he answers. Time and time again we run to Jesus when everything’s falling apart, and he comforts us.
The Hebrews have personally experienced both. Their confidence received the one-time sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for all their sins. This gave them the strength and freedom to stop all the sacrifices for sins at the Temple. But there’s more. When they felt all alone and pressured because of persecution, Jesus reassured them that he was there with them. He gave them strength for the day and every test.
When we have this kind of faith, it doesn’t mean life’s going to be easy all the time. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be pain and suffering. That everything’s going to be perfect in every area of life. That we’ll just float through life, going from victory to victory. From one great experience to another. Jesus is just real enough to know that isn’t what life is like here on planet Earth.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
It’s probably not what you want to hear, but the guarantee of Jesus is that our lives are going to filled with trouble. We’re going to go from one trouble to another. And then to the next one. And the next. This is what the Hebrews had experienced. And so have we. But fortunately, the promise of Jesus doesn’t stop there.
We have the courage to face it all. Each and every moment of every day, we can actively hold onto Jesus with boldness. As a matter of fact, it’s not just an option, it’s a command. Jesus is ordering everyone that believes in him to live with courage because of who he is and what he’s done.
This is the life worth living. Hiding in fear from everyone and everything isn’t what God made us for. We were made to live with confidence in him. Not in ourselves, but in him. When we live in faith in ourselves, we’re guaranteed to be disappointed and hurt. We’ll grow a great big crop of anxiety that we’ll eat from each and every day. Everyone has faith. The only question is where we’re going to put our faith. What are we going to put our faith in? Who will we trust? The promise is to trust in Jesus and he’ll take care of us all of our lives. We can have confidence in him. He’s proved himself over and over. Today’s the day to move faith in ourselves and put it in Jesus. Once and for all.
Noodling Questions
Do you think that everyone has faith? Why?
How have you experienced confidence and assurance? Describe.
List three things that we can do to live with greater confidence in God.
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Bible references are from the New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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