“faith grows by little bitty trusts”

Download discussion questions:  Hebrews 11:8-22
Jump to beginning of Hebrews Discussion Group Blog

I encourage you to look at the passage in Hebrews before you read this Blog entry.  What do you see in the text yourself?  What questions come to your mind?  How would you interpret what the writer says?  After even a few minutes examining and thinking about the text you will be much better prepared to evaluate the comments in the Blog.

Several general observations marked the beginning of our discussion about this passage.  The writer drew attention to a variety of expressions of faith, from active obedience to passive submission.  But even that distinction raised differences of opinion among us.

Passive Faith?

Some of the examples of faith demonstrate unmistakable action, as pointed out by several comments in our group:  Abraham leaving family and familiar surroundings for an unknown destination; later Abraham moving to the brink of sacrificing his beloved son.

Other members suggested more passive demonstrations of faith:  Sarah’s acceptance of a very unusual pregnancy, and (perhaps) Isaac willingly bound and laid on the altar by his father. We engaged in a bit of speculative conversation about the age and attitude Isaac might have had.  Someone pointed out that the fact that he had questioned Abraham about the lamb for the offering indicated at least early teen years.  (Although we did not look at the Genesis 22 story, there is even a better answer there.  Abraham had Isaac carry the wood for the burnt offering [Genesis 22:6].  So Isaac was probably even older than early teens.)  In any case, he must have willingly submitted to Abraham.

One person in our group challenged the idea that faith can ever be passive.  Even Sarah and Isaac would have made a conscious (active) internal choice.  The same person pointed out that often faith is demonstrated in quiet trust, visible in the countenance that others can see apart from overt, external action.  It may even be that quiet trust is the more difficult expression of faith:  submission when we recognize we have no control in an unexpected situation.  Both of the active, dramatic expressions of Abraham’s faith were in direct obedience to explicit commands of God (Hebrews 11:8 and Genesis 12:1, Hebrews 11:17 and Genesis 22:1).  Waiting when we have no distinct direction from God requires as much trust as following clear commands that seem to make no sense.

Imperfect Stories

The pastor writing his sermon for the Hebrew congregation includes many well-known examples of faith in God’s work.  And for most of those examples, God worked in faulty, imperfect lives.  Those imperfections are not pointed out in the text.  But most of the members of our group were familiar with at least some of the shortcomings.  Certainly, the original audience, even more steeped in the Jewish Scriptures, would have been at least equally aware.

• • Abraham obeyed God in faith when he left his home (Genesis 12:4), but he also used deception (and made his wife participate in the deceit) when his fear overcame his trust in God’s protection. In fact, the deception seemed to work so well the first time (Genesis 12:11-20) that he used the same trick again (Genesis 20:1-18).
  • Sarah’s response to God’s promise of childbearing was laughter and incredulity (Genesis 18:12). Even worse (it would seem) when God confronted her, she denied laughing (Genesis 18:13-15)!  (Interestingly, when looking at Genesis to get the exact verse citations, I noticed Abraham’s similar response earlier, he “fell on his face and laughed” in Genesis 17:17.)
  • Isaac, unfortunately following his father’s example, similarly lied to protect himself from danger (Genesis 26:6-11). Both Abraham and Isaac had put their wives at risk and brought God’s judgment on others because of their self-protective deceit.

These and other examples demonstrate that, as in the case of Noah in the previous passage, the focus was on their faith not on their failures.  That is incredibly good news for all believers.  The defining characteristic of the life of each example in Hebrews 11 is their faith, their belief in God, and their trust in Him in any and every circumstance.  Even imperfect faith seems to “gain God’s approval” (Hebrews 11:2).  Abraham’s faith was not one-hundred percent consistent when he lied instead of trusting in God’s protection.  Sarah’s laughter at God’s plan suggests less than ideal belief.  Their faith, like ours, sometimes starts small (maybe like a mustard seed). As someone commented in an earlier discussion, faith grows by “little bitty trusts.”

Trust for Others

In considering other examples in the passage (Isaac and Jacob), our discussion turned to trusting God for others.  It is one thing to believe and to trust God for our own safety or our personal health.  But often we are faced with difficulties involving loved ones – their safety, or their health, or their spiritual condition.

Isaac “by faith” or “in trusting” blessed Jacob and Esau.  He trusted God with the future for both of his sons.  The two young men followed very different paths.  Esau will even have another mention later in Hebrews, but as a negative example.  Isaac trusted God in blessing his sons, even though things turned out differently than he probably hoped.

We also considered briefly the question, “How was Isaac acting in faith when his blessing of Jacob was the result of a complicated deception?” (Genesis 27).  Here again, we are faced with a question not addressed by the writer to the Hebrews.  Our only conclusion was that at times all we can do is to act in faith, even when the circumstances are misunderstood.

Interestingly, someone in our group pointed out that while Isaac blessed his sons (v. 20), Jacob blessed his grandsons (v. 21).  We also noted (with no explanation) that the pastor omits any mention of Jacob blessing his twelve sons (Genesis 49).  Perhaps the point was to illustrate the faith that trusts God’s work in future generations.

Like Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and Esau, there was also a deliberate (but not deceptive) switch when Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons (Manasseh and Ephraim, Genesis 48).  Jacob’s vision was failing (Genesis 48:10; similar to Isaac, Genesis 27:1).  Yet Jacob consciously and intentionally (and awkwardly) crossed his arms to change the blessing of his right hand to the younger brother (Ephraim).  When Joseph discretely corrected his blind father’s “blunder,” Jacob made it unmistakable.  Moving his hands back to the crossed position, he spoke a blessing, and “he put Ephraim before Manasseh” (Genesis 48:20).  Somehow Jacob’s faith led him to disregard the expectation and tradition of blessing the firstborn.  Faith can take us into uncomfortable or awkward situations that are difficult to explain to others.

Looking Back?

The possible discomfort or awkwardness of faith is part of the writer’s “interruption” in verses 13-16.  He breaks his chain of statements beginning with “by faith” (v. 3, 4, 5, etc.) to make a point.  Thinking of Hebrews as a sermon is interesting.  Imagine your pastor building momentum with one dramatic and inspiring example after another, the “success stories” of faith.  Then the unexpected letdown: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised.”

The natural response would be, “Wait! – What?”  The writer was not offering your best life now.  He will be even more graphically blunt later in this chapter.  Faith for these exemplars was not about making heaven on earth.  Faith recognized their alien status, not expecting present comfort and fulfilment and satisfaction.  Faith was looking for a country of their own (v. 14), a place where they truly belonged, a better country (v. 16).

Abraham had modeled that perspective, living in tents (v. 9) as a temporary sojourner.  His focus, like “all these people” was on the future, the substantial city with foundations (v. 10).  Faith believed that God exists and trusted Him as the architect and builder who indeed had a city waiting.  Their anticipation of that city enabled their endurance in this life.

Their endurance included the active choice of faith not to look back, not to reminisce about past pleasures and enjoyment.  The Israelites’ reminiscences of Egyptian food distorted their reason.  Slavery seemed superior to God’s miraculous provision of manna (Numbers 11:5-6).  Likewise, our desires or emotions can distort our faith when faced with challenges.

Trust depends on belief, the complementary components of faith.  Belief provides the reinforcing reasoning to support trust in the face of erratic emotions – fear, anxiety, temptation, to name a few.  C. S. Lewis provides a clear illustration.

I was assuming that the human mind is completely ruled by reason. But that is not so. For example, my reason is perfectly convinced by good evidence that anaesthetics do not smother me and that properly trained surgeons do not start operating until I am unconscious. But that does not alter the fact that when they have me down on the table and clap their horrible mask over my face, a mere childish panic begins inside me. I start thinking I am going to choke, and I am afraid they will start cutting me up before I am properly under. In other words, I lose my faith in anaesthetics. It is not reason that is taking away my faith: on the contrary, my faith is based on reason. It is my imagination and emotions. The battle is between faith and reason on one side and emotion and imagination on the other.^[1]

He sums up succinctly.  Faith “is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”^[2]

Challenges

Someone pointed out that, as we have discussed before, the Hebrew congregation was facing a number of challenges.  Some were tempted to return to their familiar, comfortable Jewish roots, abandoning any connection to the dangerous Christian faith. The natural application question becomes:  What are our challenges?  What familiar, comfortable circumstances are we tempted to “return” to?  What makes  trusting God difficult in our culture, in our lives?

Comfort

Several comments related to our “love of comfort.”  When life is going well, “I like the way things are now.”  But sometimes faith moves us to an uncomfortable place, circumstances that stretch our faith to new limits (think of Abraham leading Isaac up the mountain).  Someone responded that those are times to “renew our mind” (Romans 12:2), remembering and reviewing what we believe about God.  Then we can rest (Hebrews 4:10-11) – trusting God’s love, wisdom, and sovereignty as the basis for trust.  Those three truths, God’s love, God’s wisdom, and God’s sovereignty, are key “things your reason has once accepted” that must be held to firmly in order to sustain trust

But…easier said than done.  Anxiety makes that simple sounding solution into a desperate battle.  The battle is most effectively fought with the support of community, “considering how to stimulate one another.”  The comfort of the community regularly, repeatedly reminds us of God’s faithful trustworthiness.  Unless that comfort far outweighs the superficial comfort of compromise, believers will indeed find “opportunity to return” to the former familiar and comfortable environment.  Participating in a strong Christian community is essential to provide a sense of “a country of our own” that is not here and now.

Control

Another challenge to trust that we discussed was the desire for control.  The problem is not (or at least not usually) a blatant rebellion, “I want to be in control of my life!”  More often it is the sense of a lack or a loss of control – over health, finances, relationships, job, etc.  (Having even an illusion of control is quite comfortable, so this and the previous topic certainly overlap.)  Recognizing the limits or the absence of control brings uncertainty, anxiety.  “What if X happens?”  An acquaintance once lamented to me about a job opportunity, “I need this for life to be OK,” with a sense of desperation at the lack of control.  The potential desperation displays why we need to help each other build faith – belief in God’s love, wisdom, and sovereignty, and trust that is confident that

• • God, in His love, always wills what is best for us.
  • In His wisdom, He always knows what is best, and in
  • His sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.^[3]

One of our group members added another point for our confident trust in God.

• • His providence, He has already decreed what is best for us will come to pass.

An aspect of control in our previous discussion came up again, our desire to control even our own failures.  This is probably a more obvious way we tend to “think of the country from which we went out and have an opportunity to return.” The ways we handled failure or sin in the past can draw us back, just like the food of Egypt tempted the Israelites, and the familiar ritual of the Jewish sacrificial system attracted the Hebrew congregation.  Shame, self-condemnation, trying to do better can seem more practical, more serious-minded, maybe even more righteous than the admonition in Hebrews: Draw near to God.  That relationship is the key.

Coming Home

Knowing more about God through His Word and through His people will grow our connection to Him.  That growth increases our belief, which enables our trust in Him. The more we see of Him, the more we understand how our true country is indeed a heavenly one.  That understanding, “gazing on the delightfulness of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4) increasingly draws our focus to that country.  In the words of a song, the distractions that often lead to our failures “grow strangely dim.”[4]  As we draw near to God, anticipating our own true country, those distractions are met with what Puritan pastor Thomas Chalmers called “the expulsive power of a new affection.”  The beauty of that true country will eclipse anything that distracts us from our commitment to Christ.  We will increasingly recognize and long for our true country.

I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. … Come further up, come further in!”[5]

---

[1] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis Signature Classics (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2021) Kindle Edition, 139.

[2] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis Signature Classics (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2021) Kindle Edition, 140.

[3] Jerry Bridges, You Can Trust God (Colorado Springs:  NavPress, 1989), 6, emphasis added.

[4] “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/645

[5] C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia Book 7) (New York:  Collier Books, 1973), 171.