Hebrews 11:32-40

The long legacy of the triumphs of faith: “conquering kingdoms, stopping lions’ mouths, quenching fire, routing armies…” (vv 32-35). But not everything in the list looks like a triumph from our perspective. There’s a massive shift right in the middle of the list (v 35), where the writer moves to another sort of triumph: “being tortured, being mocked, being stoned, being sawn in two…” (vv 35-38). In fact, there is one contrasting pair that makes the change very obvious: some “escaped the edge of the sword” (v 34) and some were “killed with the sword” (v 37). Same faith, opposite result.

This shows me at least two things. 1) Great exploits matter less to God than great faith. Some of the people in this list didn’t win huge battles or accomplish great feats. They were just great believers in what God said. 2) My circumstances are never the main issue in living for God; my faith is. This encourages me because none of the peripheral things in my life—pain in my body, disappointment in my relationships, doubts about my ability to accomplish all that I must—none of these circumstances needs to occupy my focus today. My focus should be on sustaining my faith in God’s promises—promises like verse 40, where I’m reminded that in just a little while, Christ is going to finish His work in His people and make us all perfect!