July 29 - Hebrews 11:8-10

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Long ago, a friend challenged me regarding my belief in God.  He pushed and pushed as he asked me to define why it was I believed in God. There was nothing I could say to prove that God existed – as a scientist he was asking me for solid, concrete evidence … something I could point to and proclaim God’s existence.

Apologists and theologians have written reams of words and spent innumerable hours attempting to wrap words around something that has one word to describe it: faith.

This is the foundation of our relationship with God … our faith in Him as Creator and in his Son, Jesus Christ as our Savior. It is faith that allows us to understand what scripture tells us to be true and it is faith that helps us move beyond simple acceptance of what can be managed by our five senses to something much deeper.

It was faith that sent Abraham away from the home he had known into the world with his family and all his possessions. His faith in God led him to the Promised Land, even though he was a stranger in a strange land.

His faith was bigger than his reality.

When our faith is bigger than our reality and we are obedient to God, we move into the land he has promised us. The land will be filled with unknowns and we may be known as a stranger, but God promises to be with us … all we have to do is have faith.