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And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

I like watching “based on a true story” movies or reading books of a similar type. Watching someone struggle and come out victorious gives me hope in my situation. Even when the situation doesn’t wrap up with a nice bow with all the happiness the world can offer, I can learn from their faith in God through the struggles. Have you seen these movies? It made me pause recently as I wondered, what would be included in the reel of my life.

In Hebrews 11 we find “reels” of some of the folks in the Bible. Do you ever have to remind yourself that these are real people, who lived, breathing on this earth? They are written down for us so we can be encouraged to live for God even amidst the struggles.

If you haven’t noticed this passage before or want a refresher, click the link to review it.

Who are some of the people you notice listed here? We see Abel from the first book of the Bible. It might even be one of the stories you remember from your earliest days in church. There’s Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah.

Do you notice anything missing from these short verses about them? What I notice is that the author of Hebrews divinely chose to leave out the failures and the times that their faith didn’t cause them to act in the best way. As Bible readers, we are aware of the rest of the story from various books of the Bible. We know Abraham didn’t always act in faith, right? We have read about how he made many choices that weren’t in line with godly faith.

That’s what really encourages me the most!

When it comes time to see the reel of my life, as a believer, God sees Christ’s blood covering all those actions that were made in my strength and pride. We are never going to have perfect faith because we still sin. Just like those early followers of God, we will get angry like Moses or try to deceive others like Abraham or Jacob. But the important part is that our faith in God continues growing. We learn to make choices based on our faith and in God’s strength and not our own.

I took a few minutes to jot down what might be written about me if Hebrews 11 included all of us. Like the Apostle Paul, it is never about me but about the Spirit of God in me. Never for boasting but pointing to God.

By faith, Liz

• kept believing when it didn’t make sense.
• trusted God for the journey of widowhood.
• walked through the valley of the shadow of death.
• depended on God to turn her weaknesses into strengths.
• embraced the season of singleness, knowing God had planned the love of His Son Jesus to be enough.
• entered into a new marriage covenant, serving God as a blended family.

From reading my posts here at AWM, you might know much of the back stories represented by each faith statement – you might know that Liz failed many times in trusting God but there was that one time she got it right! I hope this encourages you that even if you haven’t had perfect faith all throughout your widow’s journey, you are growing and getting stronger in it.

Lord Jesus, thank You for growing faith in us, each day getting a little stronger than the day before. We are encouraged when we see our lives through the lens of God the Father, and we know the blood of Jesus covers all our sins. Help us seek You more every day. Amen