By my quick unofficial count the phrase "by faith" appears 22 times in the first 31 verses of Hebrews 11. Clearly we are supposed to see something of what faith can do, such as being taken up to heaven, preserving one's family from a ravaging flood, founding a nation that would change the course of human and eternal history, miraculously delivering a nation from slavery, conquering an impenetrably walled city, and more.
Apparently there's something to this idea of having faith. And what's more, many of the individuals who are commended for their faith, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, even Noah are portrayed in the Old Testament as being considerably flawed individuals. Rahab, mentioned in verse 31, was a prostitute of some sort. The point is, being less than perfect did not disqualify any of these people from being used by God to accomplish things that were amazing and world-changing. How easy it is for me to feel like my faith is too small or that I'm too imperfect to be used by God, or to even be important to God.
This life is hard. Verses 36-38 paint that picture well. But when we faithfully persevere and turn our hearts toward the Lord, we are walking in the footsteps of biblical heroes who were looking for a better country - a heavenly one (v. 16).
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