Today's scripture reading is Hebrews chapter 11, verses 32 through 40.
And what more shall I say?
For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barack, Samson, Jeff Tha, of David and Samuel
and the prophets, who, by faith, conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness,
pained promises, shut the mouths of lions.
Quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong,
became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Women received back their dead by resurrection, and others were tortured, not accepting their
release so that they might obtain a better resurrection, and others experienced mockings
and scourging, yes also chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned, they were sown in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with
the sword, they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill
treated, men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves
and holes in the ground.
And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us, they would not
Most of us would love to have the heroic faith of a saints mentioned in Hebrews 11.
It's exciting to read about the great victories and accomplishments of those who are light
But the descriptions in verses 36 through 38, well, those are another matter, if we're
Enduring the process God uses to develop this kind of trust is less attractive.
Picture the Lord as a master sculptor standing before a block of marble.
Envisioning the hidden work of art within the rock, he lovingly and carefully chips away
at everything that does not fit the masterpiece he's creating.
One of the first areas the Lord deals with is your character.
His goal is to shape you into the image of his son, and his chisel lays bare roots of
sin and selfishness.
When anything or anyone becomes more important to us than the Lord, we have an idol in our
To protect us, God sometimes uses adversity to strip away everything we have relied
upon so that we can cling only to Him.
It sometimes feels as if God is taking away everything we hold dear.
But if we trust Him and yield to His shaping tool of adversity, our faith will be purified
and strengthened through challenging times.
