Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you seen those videos where they take everything apart? Piece by piece you can see how everything worked together as they were pulling it apart. I kind of want to do that with our Verse of the Day today.
It comes from Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6. It says, "And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him."
Faith: The Common Thread
"It is impossible to please God without faith." Pause there. Faith. If you look through the entire Bible, faith is actually the common thread from the beginning to the end. Abraham was in fact in Hebrews chapter 11—it's the Hall of Faith is what we describe it as, because there's so many different people. Abraham, it was counted to him for good because of his faith, and person after person after person that God elevates and highlights in Hebrews chapter 11, they demonstrated faith. But it's not just those individuals that are referenced. It's all throughout Scripture. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9: "For by grace are you saved through faith."
Faith is the key. That's why when it talks about how it's impossible to please God without faith—do you know what's pleasing to God? Our faith is what our role is in salvation. "For by grace are you saved through faith." It's not about us. It's what He has done in placing our faith and trust in Him. It's a beautiful thing.
Faith Is Not Blind
Now, before we move on to the next part, that faith—a lot of people talk about, oh yeah, to be a Christian is just blind faith. Well, the description that Hebrews chapter 11 gives for faith is the evidence of things unseen. There's evidence. We are surrounded by evidence, everywhere we look, of the existence of God. That's why I want to encourage you that faith is not necessarily a blind faith.
When blind faith comes into the picture, it's when, for example, when we're little kids, or if you have little kids, you can see things as an adult your child doesn't understand yet. Same thing with God. There's some things that God, as He said in His Word, "My thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are My ways your ways." There are certain things that He may understand that we just do not. But that does not mean that what we believe and what we put our faith and trust in for salvation, or the God existing, is actually blind. There's nothing blind about it. The evidence is all around us.
Just to try to encourage you even more, there is not necessarily a distinction between science and our faith. Because if someone walked into your kitchen, if you have small children and you have a drawing that one of your children did, or if you walk into someone else's house and see a drawing a child did on the refrigerator—it would not matter if somebody had a lot of degrees behind their name. If they walked in and said, you know what? That just happened over time, even a child's drawing on the refrigerator, you could instantly know someone did it, even if you didn't see them do it. That's why I just want to give a quick snapshot into that piece, because the Bible is clear in Hebrews chapter 11: our faith is a result of actually evidence of things unseen. There is evidence. It's not just blind faith.
Coming to God
That's why when it goes on to say, catch this: "And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him"—oh my goodness, I love that He welcomes us to come to Him. But then it goes on: "must believe that God exists." Now that's the component. That's why I want to spend some time on what that faith looks like. It's based on evidence, believing and seeing based on the evidence God exists. But then there's a word right after that says "and." There's more to it, because Scripture says in James chapter 2, verse 19 that even the demons of the devil believe and know that God exists.
It goes on to say in this verse that "He rewards those who sincerely seek Him." Now, if you have faith that believes that the God of the universe—who exists, who we know because of the evidence that we see—rewards those who seek Him, and you really believe that, do you know what that drives us to? Faith with action. Because it will cause us to seek Him.
Seeking and Being Rewarded
God knows that if we truly believe that He, as God of the universe who loves us, rewards those that seek Him, it will drive us to seek Him. He promises, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." He knows that if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added to you. He knows if you truly believe that God exists and you're seeking Him, He will reward you with His presence, and He will reward you in your life of what He's called us to, to give us wholeness and peace in our life.
I would just encourage you: keep pressing into Him. Keep seeking Him. As we share our faith with Him, that pleases Him, and He rewards us with His presence and all that He has for us in the fruit of His Spirit and the joy of His presence. May you experience that today.
