Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith?
Not Seeing Is Believing
The pragmatic society in which we live says, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But the biblical faith by which Christians live is “I believe it even when I don’t see it.” Noah spent nearly a century preaching the Gospel and building an ark for a flooding rain, which had never happened before. He built it in reverent respect and fear before God because God had warned him of something that was to come, which had never come before. It didn’t matter to Noah that he’d never seen it rain or flood; it only mattered what God said. Noah didn’t wait for the rain to start before beginning to build the ark because then it would’ve been too late to save him, his family, and all the animals. Do we sometimes wait for the rain to start pouring before we act, or do we act before there’s even a cloud in the sky?
Acting on Faith
We act on faith every day of our life. We drive over bridges that were built by engineers we’ve never met. We eat food that we’ve never seen prepared. We act on many things in our life that we have never seen with our eyes. So like Noah, we must act in faith from what we read in the Bible and not wait for the rain to hit because then it’ll be too late. If Noah had waited, he would have drowned. If we wait, we might be too late for some things. Many people keep putting off their decision for Christ, and they don’t know if tomorrow will ever come. That’s why we must tell people today that everyone has an appointment with death and then comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). If we wait to tell people about Christ, we might be too late for them.
Faith Is an Assurance
Faith is not a hope-so belief but a know-so belief. Perhaps the best definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1, that it’s the assurance of things that are hoped for but also the conviction of things not yet seen. In other words, we have never seen Jesus but believe that He exists, that He lived a sinless life, that He made the perfect sacrifice to take away our sins, and that He’ll come again someday for us. I have never seen God, but I have read His Word. Even though He’s never revealed Himself to my eyes, I know that He exists because He has revealed Himself through His written word, the Bible. Noah didn’t wait for it to rain to start building the ark. So let me ask this same question: Are we sometimes waiting for the “rain” in our life before we act?
A Closing Prayer
Father, I know that You exist because I trust Your Word that I can read with my own eyes and have seen the evidence in my own life and in the lives of others, a life changed by Your Spirit and a desire to know You in a better way. Please come quickly, oh Lord, and in Jesus’ great name I pray.
Amen
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