EXPOSITION:

What does it mean to live by faith in a world where lots of uncertainties exist and unexplainable things happen to even the righteous? And what does faith in God look like? How do you live by faith when the world itself seems to shake beneath your feet? To understand the answer to that question, let us look at Hebrews 11. Not the whole chapter, but on one man, Abraham. And not his whole story, but the record of his journey to the Promised Land. The long version of Abraham’s life is given in Genesis; this is the summary.

We learn from Abraham’s life that living by faith means waiting for God to keep His promises. God had promised Abraham the land … but he had to scratch out an existence in tents. He still had faith in the performance of the word of God. Hundreds of years would pass before the promise was completely fulfilled.

Another thing that we can learn is that living by faith means never taking your eyes off heaven. “For he was looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (vs 10). Abraham set his eyes on the glorious tomorrow built by God Himself.

Do we look forward to the heavenly Jerusalem? It is precisely at this point that the cross of Christ becomes so relevant. When Christ died, he paid the price for our sins to be forgiven so that we could enjoy sweet and personal fellowship with God. He wants us to make heaven. He made a way for us even when our backs were against the wall.