Look to the Cloud

Hebrews 11 has been called the Hall of Faith since it lists so many of our spiritual ancestors who trusted God and had faith long before us. After going through this long list of our Bible heroes, the first verse of Hebrews 12 reminds us to consider this cloud of witnesses of a life of faith.

As I look back through the list, I see a lot of people who trusted God even though they faced difficult circumstances. No two stories are the same, but they all demonstrated faith in God. Even Rahab made the list of faithers. She never could quite shake the subtitle of "the harlot," could she. Even here, the writer of Hebrews states that it was through faith that Rahab the harlot didn't die in Jericho. Her faith rescued her and her family. 

Looking through this list that contains Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, and Samuel, so many stories come to mind. These guys and gals were not perfect by any stretch. Yet they are listed here as having faith. Even Gideon, who led the Israelites in a great victory over the Midianites, later led them into idolatry. What's up with that? He still gives us a picture of faith. God didn't skip over the good stuff Gideon did just because he messed up later. He is still listed in the Hall of Faith because he had faith. Maybe mistakes don't always erase faith. IDK.

This is really encouraging if you think about it. God let the stories of imperfect people be preserved and shared over the years so we would see that it doesn't take perfection to pursue and trust God. We have faith even in our imperfect circumstances. In fact, it's those very imperfect circumstances that God walks right up into. And He does it over and over again.

My Facebook Live devotion this morning was about how God walks into sticky situations. He's not afraid of them, and He keeps showing up for imperfect, flawed people over and over again! I'm flawed! I'm imperfect! But I'm sure there is a measure of faith in my heart somewhere, and that tells me that God can show up for me today too!

Today, I will remind myself that whether I feel like I have faith or not, God will walk into my situations. He is still the rescuer, with no stipulations or requirements other than just trusting Him, even in my mess. I'll remind myself that His pattern through the ages is one of showing up on behalf of those who are trusting Him. Today, my declaration is that I will trust God in the middle of this mess life has handed me. I'll also remind myself that usually, when it feels the messiest, it's a sign He's about to show up and show out on my behalf once again. I'll watch for Him and trust Him with one more day. Will you join me?

Here's today's FB Live if you'd like to watch it: