Hebrews 12:1(NLT) says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” In this verse, and through the Apostle Paul, Heavenly Father points us in the direction of examples who triumphed in the victory that faith in Him gives to every believer. He wants us to be assured that when we place our faith in Him, we will always end up on the winning side. And because Heavenly Father wants us to remain anchored in our belief in His love, He has given us examples of ordinary people that accomplished extraordinary things. They ran the race God set before them and won it. They did not run in vain, but as Paul reminded us in Philippians 3:14, this ‘crowd of witnesses to the life of faith’ pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. There can be no doubt in our minds that we must do the same.
Many of us are enduring challenges in our lives, and sometimes we feel that they are too much for us to overcome. When we feel this way, we must hold tight to the words of our Master Jesus who told us in Mark 9:23 that all things are possible if we believe in God. We must have faith in Him, because this faith builds our relationship with God, and faith also helps us to be the men and women that God created us to be. The reason that we are to keep the examples of the crowd of witnesses close to our hearts is because they also faced very challenging times. They had to be disciplined to follow God’s directions. They had to be determined to see His assignments through to the end, and they had to build endurance so that their faith muscles remained flexible and strong according to God’s Will and Plan. This is required to overcome any and every challenging situation. When we are disciplined, determined, and endure with faith, the outcome will be very pleasing to us, and pleasing to God as well.
God promised to bless and help His people living during earlier biblical periods. He has also made the same promises of His protection, care, and covering to us, but we must remember that this is not a one-sided relationship. God always does His part, and we must do our part as well.
Our part is to remain steadfast in faith no matter how circumstances, conditions, and situations appear. Heavenly Father tells us in 1Peter 5:8-9(NLT), “8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” We must recognize that our faith will be tested by the devil. We can see this very clearly in the lives of the crowd of witnesses to the life of faith. Abraham and Sarah are in this crowd of witnesses, and their records of faith are such a testament to us all, because their conditions and circumstances were not optimal, yet God did mighty things through and in them.
Abraham wanted very much to have a son that would be his heir. He and Sarah had been married a long time, but it didn’t happen during the youth of their child-bearing years. They had grown old and were way past the age of having children, and this is the point in their lives where they received a promise from Heavenly Father. In Genesis 18:18(NLT), God spoke about His promise to Abraham and said, “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.”
Lots of things happened in Abraham’s and Sarah’s lives before they actually witnessed the fruition of God’s promise. Abraham was comfortable living in his biological father’s homestead. Although he didn’t have children of his own, his father’s family was large, and they were wealthy, but God told Abraham that he would have to move away. During this time in biblical history, there were no cars, buses, or motorized transportation of any kind, so moving was a very big ordeal. A person had to bring along their employees or servants, their livestock, and all their belongings. They’d have to travel great distances with all this, and conditions were nowhere near optimum.
When Abraham heard God’s instructions, he could have said, “What!!! Are you kidding me! Do I really have to move? That’s a lot of work, Lord. Can’t You just bless me where I am?!!!” This is how many of us would respond, but not Abraham. He started packing and followed God’s directive. That’s faith! Was it easy? Absolutely not. Even when Abraham arrived in the place God promised to give him, there was a famine in the land. Despite the challenges, the Lord was with Abraham and blessed him.
Abraham is known as the Father of Faith because he had a fully persuaded faith in God. His example shows us that sometimes we may have to leave some things behind, because they are hindering us from being the person God destined us to be. Most of us would like to remain in our comfort zones, but we can’t spiritually grow by doing so. Our faith muscle requires a workout. It must be stretched so that we can see a side of God’s strength, power, and love that we haven’t seen before. And we will also witness how God moves through us as we live by the example of Jesus Christ through faith.
We can be very opinionated people. We are tempted to let our opinions do a number on our faith. We think we know what God should do in our situations, and we are sometimes very upset when the timing of His deliverance and power doesn’t show up when we think it ought to. God tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9(NLT), “8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God knows every detail of our lives, and His timing is forever and always perfect. There is so much more than what our physical eyes can see that is going on in our lives and within the spiritual realm. God knows it all, and Romans 8:28 assures us that He’s working everything out for our good. We must discipline ourselves to continue in prayer, no matter the circumstances. Our determination to rest in the Father’s care will not be in vain, because He holds us in the palms of His hand. If we continue to endure, like Abraham and Sarah, we will witness the manifestation of God’s promise. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Discipline, Determination, and Endurance”, written by Vince Mack. Blessing Beads and More© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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