Note: The AMI QT Devotionals for November 21-26 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee of Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco, CA.
Devotional Thought for Today
Hebrews 11:13-16
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
On Thursday, I shared how we implemented chores and rewards for my seven-year-old, Simon. From that system, Saturday became his payday. In his first week of work, he made a whopping $3. Small oversight on my part, I only had $2 in my wallet. So, I gave my son the two bucks and told him that I’ll give him the rest later. I figured no big deal, right? Not so fast… for some reason, my son did not believe that I would’ve made good on my IOU. (I don’t know why Simon doesn’t trust me; perhaps it’s because whenever my family gives him money, Dad puts it away for “safekeeping”.) Anyway, the next day Simon asked me for his dollar, but of course I didn’t have it, because I wasn’t about to go to the bank for one dollar. This went on for a few days until I found a convenient time to come up with a buck—I think it was the following Wednesday.
Here’s the funny thing: Instead of demolishing his faith in me, the fact that I eventually paid built up his trust in me. Because my son knows that I will eventually pay up, he is fine with letting things slide here and there. Now when I tell him I’ll pay him later, he’s good, knowing that later will eventually come.
Similarly, when the writer of Hebrews says, “These all [faithful patriarchs] died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar…”, he means that they did not have to see every promise of God fulfilled with their own eyes to believe in God’s future faithfulness because they had seen God “pay up” on past promises numerous times. The principle we need to learn is that this: Past faithfulness fuels future faith. One of the examples the writer of Hebrews used was that of Abraham and Sarah. Technically, neither of them lived long enough to see their descendants grow to be as “many as the stars,” but they did see the miraculous birth of Isaac, new lands (in part), and other miraculous events. For them, since God had proven to be faithful, they could count on His future faithfulness even after their deaths.
What are the things you are waiting for? Do you have faith in God’s future promises because you have seen his faithfulness in the past? If you are having problems remembering God’s faithfulness, then I encourage you to keep a journal. You will see that God is faithful; seeing this will encourage your faith in Him tomorrow.
Prayer: Faithful Father, thank You that You keep your promises. Remind me of your past goodness toward me; let that fuel my faith in You for the future. You are the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
Bible Reading for Today: Proverbs 14-15