Skip to main content

Tuesday Devotion, 10th August 2021

Hebrews 11:8-16


Believing in God’s Promised Land


In Hebrews chapter 11 the writer first describes what faith is (v 1-4). From verse 5 onwards, he gives examples of people who have shown great faith in their lives, in order to provide us with examples of how to live by faith. Verses 8 to 16 describe Abraham and Sarah’s faith in God’s promises. The details of the story are described in Genesis 12. Abram was called by the Lord to leave his land and his family to travel to an unknown place that God promised to give to him and to his descendants. Abram obeyed God and took his wife Sara, and his nephew Lot. He should not have taken Lot because he was commanded to leave his family, and he and Sara made some serious mistakes along the way which led to serious consequences that you can read about in Genesis chapters 13 to 16.


Nevertheless, God was merciful to Abraham and kept his promises to him. He made a covenant with Abram to make him the father of many nations, and He renamed them Abraham and Sarah. By faith Abraham made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents like Isaac (his son) and Jacob (his grandson). For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (v8-9). In a sense, all Christians live like strangers in a foreign land because although we are in this world, we are not of the world because we belong to God’s kingdom which is our eternal promised home. God’s city with foundations is our eternal home that is securely established by God. 


Our focus should be on God, because our future belongs to Him. Abraham and Sarah held onto God’s promise that they would have a son and an eternal home sometime in the future. They had to wait many decades for their son Isaac, and they never saw the promised land during their lifetime. God told Abraham that for four hundred years his descendants would be strangers in a country not their own and they would be enslaved and mistreated there, but God would punish the nation they served as slaves and afterwards they would come out with great possessions (Genesis 15:12-14). This was a long time to remain faithful for.Abraham and Sarah have provided us with an excellent lesson in faith. Hold on firmly to God’s promises and keep walking in faith for however long it takes, until you have finished the journey and arrived in the promised land. Abraham and Sarah, did not receive the things promised in their lifetime. However, they saw them in faith and welcomed them from afar, admitting that they were foreigners on earth (v13). If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return (v15). 


This reminds me of the hymn that says, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back.” Once we have taken up the cross and made the decision to follow Christ, there is no turning back. We have to keep going in faith and keep our trust in God’s promises and in His wisdom. It is up to Him how he chooses to fulfill His promises, but He will do what he says he will do.


The cornerstone of our faith is that we are saved by Jesus’ resurrection. For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). If we do not trust God’s promises, we are essentially making Him out to be an unreliable liar! Therefore, we must stay on guard and keep our faith in Him strong, because we know that our promised land is a heavenly country that God has prepared for us. Then God will not be ashamed to be called our God (v16). He will be delighted to welcome us home when our time comes.


Our country has just entered another time of social restrictions in the midst of a second COVID-19 infection wave. It can feel like we are living in a frightening and strange land when we are facing a pandemic. We will not be able to meet others as we would like to. It is likely that we will have to deal with this for some time. We need to make sure that we stay firm in our faith and continue to study the Word and to pray. We should keep encouraging each other in our walk with God. I pray that we will be able to hold onto God’s promises and remain faithful to Him throughout. 


Suggested Prayer

Almighty God, thank you for your word that has shown me how to live by faith. Thank you for your 

encouragement and wisdom. Thank you for Your faithfulness. Thank you for preparing an eternal home for me where I can live in Your presence, in fellowship with others who have also remained faithful to You. I am so grateful Lord for your love. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger of Spiritual Infancy (Hebrews 5:11 - 6:12)

Have you met people who refuse to grow up? There are some adults who prefer to remain as children because they do not want to take on adult responsibilities. Not only is immature behaviour unpleasant to observe or deal with, the consequences are often destructive. In Hebrews 5:11-14, the writer expresses his frustration that some members of the church were refusing to grow into spiritual maturity. They were no longer trying to understand God’s word (v 11). Instead of taking on the responsibility of teaching others as they themselves had been taught, they needed to be taught the basics all over again (v12). Therefore, they were unable to take on “solid food” which is for mature Christians, and they were not able to distinguish good from evil (v14) or to understand teaching about righteousness (v13). Spiritual maturity is a necessary part of our walk with God. Remaining as a spiritual infant means that you are not good at discerning right from wrong and you will have a hard time maintain

A prophet prophesies and the church fully obeys (Acts 11:27- 12:4)

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. 12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. When Jewish believers from Cyprus (Europe) and Cyrene (Liby

22 Sep 2020 - Isaiah 54 : GOD’S PROMISE FOR FRUITFULNESS AND BLESSING

Daily Devotion Tuesday 22nd September  Isaiah 54 – GOD’S PROMISE FOR FRUITFULNESS AND BLESSING    This scripture is a beautiful promise of encouragement and affirmation to God’s people. If you have served God faithfully, but you feel discouraged, if you feel that your effort thus far has not borne any fruit, if you feel that you have been despised or looked down upon, this promise is for you.    God tells the “barren woman” to sing and shout for joy, because God will give her the desire of her heart and gift her with more children than she can imagine (v1). This is a prophecy for the increase and expansion of the nation of Israel through the birth of many children, and a promise that the city would be rebuilt. The barren woman could also mean a person or a church that is feeling discouraged, unfulfilled or foolish. Perhaps you feel foolish and discouraged for putting your trust in God for so long, but you have not experienced the results that you expected? If you are feeling discourage