Hebrews 11:13 "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
We all have experienced disappointment when something did not turn out the way
we wanted it to happen. Sometimes we recovered fairly quickly. Other times, we
recall the hurt over and over. Sometimes the result was a loss of confidence in
someone or something. Can you identify with what I'm saying?
Today's passage tells us Abraham and Sarah (plus the others listed before
these) lived their entire life without seeing the end result of God's promise
to them. I could bring myself to a state of grief, if I allowed myself to dwell
on this part of the verse. But Abraham did not allow himself to dwell in a
state of mind where he only thought of promises not received. How could he do
that? The answer lies in the first two words that are found in most of the
previous verses we have looked at up to this point: "By faith".
Faith does not alway assure us things will occur as we expect them to happen.
But faith does assure us that our Heavenly Father loves us and never leaves us
alone.
What were the promises that Abraham did not actually see in his lifetime? Read Genesis 12:1-4. God promised to show him a land. Did He do that?
Yes. God promised to make a great nation of Abraham, even when he and Sara had
no children at that time. Did He do that? Yes. We call it Israel. Did Abraham
get to see that? No, but he believed God could and would do it. God promised to
make Abraham's name great. Did He do that? Yes. Did Abraham get to see that
occur? Probably not. God promised Abraham to be a blessing. Did He do
that? Yes. Did Abraham get to experience that in his day? Probably not. God
promised to bless "all families of the earth through Abraham". Did He
do that? Yes. Did Abraham get to see it? No, Jesus was born several
thousand years later. Abraham died, not having received these promises. But he
embraced them as absolute truth and trusted God to bring it about.
Did it discourage Abraham that he did not see all these blessings in his day?
No, by faith he embraced the promises and trusted God for the results that God
had planned. His confession was, "I am a stranger and a pilgrim on the
earth." This is not my permanent home and I should never get
comfortable with worldly things. There is a song the Kingsmen used to sing
entitled: "I Just Stopped By on My Way Home." We would be much
better served by our faith if we could keep in mind our citizenship is not in
this world; rather, we are citizens of a place called Heaven. I pray that
I will show allegiance to my Homeland.