Day 337, Year 1

Faith that Transcends Earthly Experiences

“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude– innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:11-12 NKJV)

Abraham’s example of faith is accompanied by his wife’s (Genesis 18:10-15). Sarah also believed that God’s words would be fulfilled. The word “faithful” in verse 11 is the same Greek word as faith, referring to God’s faithfulness. Similarly, we are to have faith in Him as He is trustworthy whenever He says. God is reliable. So, we can put all our trust in His Word. In other words, we who believe that God is faithful and trustworthy will take His promises seriously. As we trust in Him according to His promises, we will nurture the virtue of faithfulness as He is. 

Abraham and Sarah believed in God’s promise, but this conflicted with their physical condition at that time. Sarah “was past the age” of childbearing (11), and Abraham was a man as if dead (12). However, they believed in His promise that His words could change their bodies. Because of this faith in Him, they were justified by God. Sarah “received strength to conceive seed,” which implies that God also wants us to think about His promises first, beyond our own experiences. Similarly, we seek and believe in God’s unlikely promises to be fulfilled for us, too. Believing in His promises is bound to transcend our limitations. Sometimes, God really wants us to wait until we are in despair. In this situation, we trust His promises to transcend our past inadequate or negative experiences and overcome any despair.

In the case of the promise of justification by faith, for instance, we must first feel our sins and desperate dismay, so that we might even think we could never be saved. If not, do those who think themselves self-righteous all the time still need God to justify them? Not at all. Without a deep confession of sin, or without a deep understanding of one’s own heinousness, or without a deep belief in the power of God’s promise, justification by faith is impossible or fruitless. Contrarily, we who repent know that we cannot expel the evil in us all by ourselves. But because of Jesus’ substitutionary atonement, God will forgive our sins and see us as sinless in His eyes. So, when we see ourselves as sinless as He does, we will develop a heart of obedience toward God’s Word. And the righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus is step by step in us becoming His righteous life.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you feel that your faith in God transcends your experiences and leads you to be confident that His promises will be fulfilled? If someone is trapped in any past negative experience and has trouble trusting God, where is the way out?

2) Does your faith in God make you more faithful in general?