Extraordinary Faith

The Bible is filled with stories about regular people like you and me. So, how did they merit a place of such honor as to be remembered and discussed all these thousands of year later? It wasn’t their own capabilities or power. Quite simply, they were ordinary folks with extraordinary faith. The names and the faces that fill the pages of Scripture are those of shepherds, fishermen, tent-makers, seamstresses, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, boat-builders, gardeners, butlers and maids. They dealt with insecurities, and struggled with sin. They were flawed and imperfect people, made perfect in the sight of God only by faith and His amazing grace. Despite their flaws and their failures, they believed God and everything He said to them to be true. When they fell down, they got right back up; when they veered off the path, they got back on track; when they lost their way, they refocused their sights on God. Just like you and me, they messed up from time to time. At times it even appears they took a step or two backwards in their walk with the Lord, but the overall trajectory of their lives was moving forward in faith, holding tightly to the hand of God.  Extraordinary faith is what makes these folks so note-worthy. As we read the stories of those who’ve gone before us, let’s find comfort in knowing we don’t have to earn God’s mercy or grace, we simply need to surrender our lives to Him in child-like faith.

Hebrews 11:1-2, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”