“Faith,” says Hebrews’ author, “is a confidence of things hoped for, a conviction regarding matters not seen” (He­brews 11:1). Every believer in Yeshua, since the moment He ascended out of sight, has relied heavily on this invisible future of hope. We’ve taken God at His word on promises we’re still waiting for. We’ve counted as proof things we can’t see; trusted in guarantees with no tangible evidence at all. It is a faith so fundamental to following and walking after the Messiah that, without it, we have nothing. Could you, then, keep holding on to this kind of faith, knowing you might never receive the promise?

The author of Hebrews endeavors to build up and strengthen just such an endurance within us. To bolster our fortitude, He marches before us a procession of Israel’s examples of deep and active trust in God. From the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he portrays true faith’s most profound characteristic.

In faith, all these died not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar, and having greeted them, and having confessed that they are strangers and temporary residents upon the earth. (Hebrews 11:13, mjlt)

There is no view of faith more anathema to modern Christian thinking than that of “not having received the promises” of God in this life. Today’s believers are so sensitive about—and consumed by—how God will help and provide for us now, right this instant, that the idea of never even receiving the promises feels akin to heresy. But rather than seeing unfulfilled promises as so completely unimaginable, we should instead find the examples from Israel’s history deeply humbling. Indeed, they should cause us to take our faith even more seriously.

This is, in fact, the author’s entire point. These faithful ones of Israel—especially the patriarchs—lived their entire lives by faith, yet died without receiving God’s promises. Their faith was sufficient because even though they could only see those promises and greet them from afar—never actually reaching them—they continued to believe. And more than that, they continued to act in accordance with that belief. Nothing could dissuade them from their complete trust in God. They understood that as strangers and temporary residents upon the earth, their promise was elsewhere.

For those [men of faith] saying such things make it apparent that they seek a homeland. And if, indeed, they had been mindful of that from which they went out, then they might have had an opportunity to return; but now they long for a better homeland—that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed of them—to be called their God—for He prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:14-16, mjlt)

Israel’s faith-keepers had their eyes fixed on something beyond the now. Their faith saw and greeted from afar something not tied to today’s material world. Rather than focusing on the struggles of this life and seeking the opportunity—or looking for the excuse—to return to where they had come from, they had the perseverant faith to look forward to the promises of a better, heavenly home. This is the kind of faith which gives God no cause for shame, and which He rewards by preparing a city. True faith empowers us to die without receiving the promises, because we long for the ultimate promise of dwelling forever with God.

As we stand in the shadow of these great ones of faith, this is the part that should humble us the most: they believed—and acted on their beliefs—not only without having received the promises, but unlike us, without even having the Messiah! If our fathers could exhibit such faith, not having received their promises, then how much more can we who have found the Messiah show at least that same endurance and conviction to act upon our beliefs?

What if you never see God’s promises fulfilled in this lifetime? Will you have the faith to keep believing, even if it takes forever?

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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