Start your day with the Daily Devotional Podcast — a Monday through Friday Bible study designed to help you pause, reflect, and connect with God’s Word. Each short devotional takes you deeper into Scripture, offering encouragement, insight, and practical application for everyday life. Whether you’re commuting, on a break, or beginning your morning routine, these devotionals will point you to Jesus and help you grow in your faith one day at a time.
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4:33
This reflection explores Hebrews 11 as the story of a family of faith whose trust in God was built not on blind belief, but on confidence that He would remain faithful to His promises even when their fulfillment lay beyond their own lifetimes. It reminds believers that through Jesus we have been welcomed into that same story, surrounded by the testimony of those who came before us and invited to step forward in faith knowing that the God who kept His promises to them will keep His promises to us.
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“May the Lord bless you and keep you — and may His presence guide you this week.”
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Today I'm reading Hebrews eleven verse thirty seven through Hebrews twelve verse three. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with a sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, and hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, and yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the races God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people.
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Then you won't become weary and give up. For more context, I would greatly encourage you to go read all of Hebrews eleven before continuing.
SPEAKER_01
For the sake of consistency I chose to keep the reading a bit shorter, but it will help set the stage if you have the entire story in mind. The author of Hebrews outlines the Old Testament in Hebrews eleven within the context of faith. Faith as the assurance of things hoped for, not as a mindless belief in the unseen. The author of Hebrews, who I will refer to as the preacher going forward, thanks Tim Mackie, makes the case that the mothers and fathers of our faith did not blindly leap into obedience. They looked to what God had already done and believed that he would continue to keep his promises, even for promises that they would never see resolved. On its own, it's a beautiful and powerful outline of the history of our faith. But it has an even greater point that it's making. The preacher says at the start of chapter twelve, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, which is surely a coincidence after laying out such a great cloud of witnesses. This is the family we've been adopted into Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Rahab, David, Samson, the prophets, and more than we don't even have time to comprehend. So many people of astounding faith with astounding flaws, forging the path to Jesus, and now surrounding us and cheering us on from the finish line, hoping and pushing for us to run the race that the Father had them help lay out. It's their faith that now provides the evidence that our faith is built upon, and it's Jesus who is both the resolution to their ultimate promise and the founder of ours. It's through Jesus that we are not blindly leaping into a chasm of unknowable depth.
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Instead we're stepping forward, even on weak and shaky legs, knowing that God keeps his promises. Before I close in prayer, here's a question to wrestle with.
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Where is God asking me to take the next step in faith, trusting his faithfulness even when I cannot yet see how his promises will be fulfilled? Father, thank you for the faith of those who came before us and for the ways their lives remind us that you are faithful to your promises. When my faith feels weak or the path ahead feels uncertain, help me remember that I am not walking alone. Fix my eyes on Jesus, the one who fulfills your promises, and give me the courage to keep moving forward, trusting that you will be faithful even when I cannot see the end.
