DEVOTION – DAY 175

Hebrews 11:6 “Faith In God”

 

Heb.11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

 

It is easy to have faith in God and believe that God loves us when we have steady jobs, we have a happy family life, and everything seems to go smoothly. But how many of us are able to still believe that God loves us when we are afflicted with cancer or a life threatening disease? Or if we lose our jobs because of Covid-19 and our bills start to mount and our loved ones die because they become infected with Covid-19? Do we still believe that God loves us?

 

Heb.11:6 teaches us that our faith in God must not depend on our circumstances and the amount of blessings we receive from God. True faith in God is based on our belief in God as revealed in the Bible, and not on our circumstances. Because the Bible tells us in 1 John 4:16 that God loves us and that God is love. We are to believe this truth even though our own life experiences at present does not seem to support this truth. Heb.11 gives a list of Old Testament people who had faith in God and what God said, even though their present circumstances did not support that faith. Take Noah as an example. God asked him to build an ark in the middle of a dry barren place. Noah had faith in God and did as he was told even though he must have faced years of ridicule as he spent his time building a boat in the middle of a desert.

 

We knew someone who loved the Lord. One day, she was diagnosed with cancer and her lifestyle had to change dramatically. Because the cancer had spread, she had to undergo surgery followed by chemotherapy. The chemotherapy made her ill and she lost a lot of weight. Her health improved and her cancer was in remission. Later, her cancer resurfaced and she had to have further operations and chemotherapy. Throughout, she never doubted that God loved her. She never blamed God for her cancer. She never questioned God, why she was struck with cancer. She just accepted her situation and did not allow her life experiences to affect her faith and trust in God. This is the kind of faith that Heb.11:6 talks about.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we worship you, for you are faithful, merciful, gracious, loving and kind. Thank you for teaching us to trust and put our faith in you no matter what our circumstances may be, because you reward those who earnestly seek you. Help us to live this truth always. In the great name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. Why do people’s faith in God depend on their present circumstances? Discuss.
  2. What does this devotion teach you about true faith in God? Discuss.
  3. How can you have this kind of true faith in God that is independent of your circumstances? Discuss.
  4. Will you seek to have true faith in God always? Share.