40 Days of Faith
"And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith,
did not receive the promise..."
Hebrews 11:39
The report and testimony of these Old Testament saints are more than honorable. They are truly individuals that have stood through the trials and afflictions that challenge our faith. They lived their lives by faith, and they walked in obedience to the voice of God. They persevered through days where the doubts seemed to surpass the truth by multitudes. They did all of this without having ever seen what they were looking for.
Death came before any of them saw the fulfillment of the promised Messiah. The hundreds of times that they stood before the altar as a lamb was sacrificed was the only shadow that they saw of what was to come. They woke up wondering each day if that would be the day that God would come to personally deliver His people. Within their hearts and minds was a groaning for redemption and deliverance.
When Jesus appeared before the disciples the second time, He stood in front of the one we often call "Doubting" Thomas. Thomas had rejected the witness of his fellow disciples and claimed that he would only believe that Jesus had risen from the dead if he saw it for himself. Now, Jesus stood before him as the proof of resurrection. The Bible tells us that Thomas fell to his knees and proclaimed Jesus to be Lord. Jesus, however, makes an interesting statement to Thomas. He said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Our faith has something in common with the faith of Enoch, Noah, Moses, Abraham, etc. We have not personally seen Jesus with our eyes or touched Him with our hands, but we believe. Like them we groan for the day of redemption and adoption to take place. We must continue to walk by faith with the knowledge the promise of Christ is real and all things are fulfilled just as He has said.
May you live looking for the promise today!
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