Hebrews Chapter 11
“… And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1 John 5:4-5
The devil has influence over this entire world. If we do not break out of our sinful nature, we would just be like anyone in the world today.
We work to provide for our families, saving some income to build a security ‘nest’ for our foreseeable future. Some look for charitable causes to contribute toward, seeking a meaningful life. Yet others choose to indulge in social activities that allow them to be ‘seen’ and be ‘connected’, enlarging their social circles.
Whether rich or poor, many stumble through life constantly dissatisfied, professing to live for the moment, but are without hope, helpless, angry, and lacking in self-control – giving in to their lusts and feeding their pride.
But we are of God (1 Jn 5:19).
Our faith in Jesus (1, 3) allows us to overcome the distractions and temptations of this world. Jesus, filled with compassion and love for us, has washed our sins in His own blood (Rev 1:5). Those of us who are baptised have died to this world and have been raised with Christ in His resurrection (Col 3:1-3).
We have died to this world.
The heroes of faith in this chapter had strived diligently to lead holy lives, and to please God (6).
Their choices and actions in their lives are guided by their faith. They relied on God and believed in His faithfulness, sovereignty, and deliverance. If Joseph had doubted God, he would not have survived abandonment by his own brothers, slavery, baseless accusations, and wrongful imprisonment.
By faith, he endured sufferings as a slave, the humiliation to his pride, the distress of false accusations, and the loneliness of being forgotten. And God was with him throughout his ordeal (Gen 39:3, 21, 23, Gen 41:16, 38, Gen 45:5).
Today, whether we had believed in Jesus since we were young like Joseph, or only came to believe later in life, we must guard and grow our faith carefully.
Faith makes us stronger (34).
It is better to struggle in our weaknesses, than to be overcome by sin. With faith, we should not be afraid to fight hard against sin, because we have Jesus as our High Priest sitting at the right hand of God (Col 3:1) interceding for us.
What is our hope?
Beyond our foreseeable future on earth, God’s promises await us (40). If we begin with the end in mind, and place our hopes only on God’s promises, we will be able to put everything that we face and endure in our lives into proper perspective.