October 26

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. — Heb 10:23 BSB

Faith cannot rest on fantasy; it can only rest on the solid truth of God as revealed in the Scriptures. When faith finds its resting place in the truth of God, it’s like Noah’s dove returning to the ark—it finds its nest, its home, its peace. Many people think we build our faith and hope on our feelings or personal ideas, distinct from the Word of God. But I cannot and will not build my faith on anything other than what is revealed in the Bible. I must do this because I have no other secure foundation for my faith. Don’t you feel the same if you’ve ever experienced the trial of faith? You’ve been tossed up and down many times, needing a firm foothold for your faith. You may have tried to believe this or that doctrine or attempted to attain a particular spiritual experience, but you kept falling short because your faith required something stronger than human testimony. You needed a solid foundation to build on for eternity because the things to be believed are so mysterious and unseen that only the Word of God can provide a sufficient foundation for your faith to rest upon.

When, in the trial of faith, the truth of God revealed in the Scriptures is applied to your heart by divine power, you find a secure place to stand. Your faith can rest on the inspired Word of God as a rock on which to build, for both life and death, time and eternity.

This was true for Abraham. When he looked forward to the birth of the promised son, he likely had many doubts and fears about whether he would indeed have a son by Sarah. But he rested on the Word of promise and found a foothold for his faith. As the Apostle says, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed... just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (Romans 4:18). In the same way, our faith must rest on the Word of promise, so that “by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.”