“And, ‘My righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.’”

Have you taken time to reflect on the power of faith in our lives?

Last week, I shared the meaning of faith and how faith and belief work together. In the passage above, the writer of Hebrews is quoting an Old Testament Scripture from Habakkuk 2:4 (NIV):
“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”

In both instances, God uses this message to remind His people not to regress into their former sinful lives, but to trust His sovereignty and faithfulness, even when they could not see His hand at work in a physical way.

In other words, faith (pístis) is lived out even when you do not understand the beginning or the end of the story, because you trust and believe in the God who promised never to leave you nor forsake you
(Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5, NIV).

This kind of faith moves believers to obey, persevere, and continue forward without looking back, just as Jesus teaches in Luke 9:62 (NIV).

My friend, while speaking with Thomas, Jesus foretold the kind of faith future believers would need:

“Because you have seen me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
— John 20:29 (NIV)

That is why:

• Faith believes
• Faith obeys
• Faith does not compromise
• Faith moves forward, not backward

So the question I leave you with today is this:
Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?

That is why I say, “I will not argue with anyone, but I will listen if we are having a dialogue.”
However, if the purpose of the dialogue is to convince me that Jesus is not the only way to God, that Jesus is not equal to God, that hell is not real, or that there are many paths to God, those are conversations I will not entertain.

Because one promise I know for certain is this:
Every human being will stand before the throne of God and give an account of how they chose to live
(Romans 14:10–12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11–12, NIV).

My friends, reflect on these questions:

1. Where has God revealed areas in your life where your faith has been passive rather than obedient?
2. Are you allowing cultural ideas to shape your beliefs more than the Word of God?
3. What is one area where Jesus is calling you to trust Him without seeing the outcome?

Weekly Scripture Hebrews 10:38 NIV