A Devotional on Hebrews 11: What is Successful Faith? 

Have you heard of the “Hall of Fame” museums in the United States? They have a “Hall of Fame” for music, sports, and entertainment. It features special men and women who are the best in that sport or genre of music. 

Hebrews 11 Devotional: What Is Successful Faith?

Did you know that Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith”? In that chapter we have a list of dozens of Old Testament people who demonstrated amazing lives of faith. Some of the characters on that list include people like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and Daniel. There are people like these: 

“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” -Hebrews 11:32-35

As we read through this list and think about all that they accomplished through faith, we might come to a few conclusions.

We might think that successful faith means: 

• We can conquer anything. 
• God’s promises will come to pass in the way we want.
• Protection for us and for our loved ones is a guarantee.
• Our weakness will always turn to strength.
• We will win every battle we face. 
• God will restore everything we’ve lost in this life. 

If all we had about faith was these few verses, it would seem that way. But. You and I might also think that this kind of faith is no longer possible. We might read this list and say, “Well, that was good for them back in a time when God was working.” Or we might believe those people were just stronger than us today. 

I don’t know about you, but when I look at that list, and if those things were evidence of my faith I would have to say that my faith is very, very weak indeed. I have failed, lost, been hurt, and faced defeat more times than I can count. If all we had were those verses, we would define successful faith as prosperity. 

The definition of faith

The writer of Hebrews, however, did not end his definition of faith there. Read about another side of the coin in the next few verses of the very same passage: 

“There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” -Hebrews 11:35-40

This is a horrible list! Death, poverty, mistreatment, without homes, and yet it says of these people, “These were all commended for their faith…the world was not worthy of them.” These people did not get the reward as we would see it, yet their faith was just as strong as the first set of people in Hebrews 11:32-35. 

But it says that real faith often—and probably more often than not—doesn’t look like “success”. The definition of faith is: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1

What is it that we do not see? We do not see what is coming and waiting for us beyond our death. We can’t see into eternity and we can’t see every way God is working on this earth. (See Waiting on God to Fix Things for more on this perspective.)

So what is “successful” faith? Belief and calm assurance in these things as facts:

• God conquers anything. 
• God’s promises will come to pass in the way we need.
• Spiritual protection for us and for those who love God. 
• Our weakness will always turn to strength through the power of Christ. 
• We will win every spiritual battle we face. 
• God will restore everything we’ve lost in this life in heaven. 

Being faithful is not based on what we do or what the results are– faith is based on God, His promises, and ultimately Jesus’s work on the cross! 

*Many of these ideas came from an amazing sermon preached by Timothy Keller. I highly recommend you listen here and be even more encouraged!