Even Though

At times on my journey of faith, there have been moments when I have wondered, are we just fooling ourselves? Is it crazy to talk about being secure in our faith? After all, there are so many things we don’t understand. There are so many pieces we can’t explain and so many questions we can’t answer. At such times, I find a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews gives a needed insight:

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. Hebrews 11:8-12 (NIV)

Abraham demonstrated faith not as long as he knew how everything fit together or as long as he could see where it all was leading or as long as it all made logical sense. No, he demonstrated faith even though…even though he didn’t know where he was going…even though it made no sense that he could become a father…even though his body was as good as dead.

But, here I think, is the key point: while he was uncertain about a lot of things, he was certain about the faithfulness of the God who made the promises. He didn’t have to have all the answers because he was convinced of God’s reality and reliability. And that conviction had come through his personal encounter with him.

The message of Hebrews is that we can be certain about Jesus and his remarkable life. And so we hold on to him, even though---even though we don’t understand why things happen, even though our bodies sometimes feel as good as dead, even though we don’t have things go the way we hoped, even though there are things we can’t explain. 

Right now, because of Jesus, we can have secure faith, even though.