Saturday May, 15 2021 Devotional
"And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." - Hebrews 11:39-40 Some people pray and when things don’t turn out the way they expected, they say, “I tried faith and it doesn’t work. I really believed that God would give me what I was asking Him for but He let me down. I don’t believe in God anymore.” At the end of the list of heroes of the faith that God gives us in Hebrews, chapter 11 He adds, “All these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised.” He isn’t telling us that faith doesn’t work or that God doesn’t answer prayer. He’s teaching us something about the true nature of faith. The reason, He says, that they didn’t receive what had been promised to them and what they had been believing God for, was because God had a better idea and a plan that included not only them but us as well. Faith trusts God. We don’t trust in our prayers, but in God. We don’t believe for a specific result; we believe that God knows what’s best, so we can entrust ourselves to Him and entrust our situation to His care. This is how faith works. God will always keep His Word. He will keep it in the best, wisest and most loving way, and we can trust Him, even when we don’t understand the plan. Lord, fill my heart with faith that trusts You, trusts in Your Word, and entrusts my life to your loving care, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles