A Different Faith

"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...."  Hebrews 11: 1

Different people. Different talents.  Different gifts. Different callings.  Every person is unique in what God has called them to do.  God calls people to different places and different ministries. One calling is not better than another, just different. Maybe God has called you to be a stay-at-home mother who will homeschool your children and raise them to be men and women of God. Maybe God has called you to be a teacher that shows love and compassion to your students each and every day.  Maybe God has called you to serve in the military and to share the Gospel with men and women who are scared and uncertain of their future.  You may be called to work in a local soup kitchen in your local community or take school supplies and clothing to kids in a poverty-stricken community. You may be called to be a preacher, pastor, evangelist, singer, song-writer, Christian rapper, politician (yes, them too!), principal, citizen volunteer, board member, or another calling.  You are called to share God's love in whatever it is you do. Don't feel bad because your calling looks different from another person's. The truth is that God knows what calling you will flourish most in and he's tailored a life especially for you. He knows that your particular calling will bring HIM the most glory.   As I read Hebrews 11, I began to look for a pattern or a common thread in how these people also known as the "ancients" demonstrated their faith---but I didn't find one!  The truth is that there is no one way to have faith.  Everyone's faith and calling is so different yet holds the same value in the kingdom of God.   You may be called to sing and I may be called to lead.  You may be called to save lives as a doctor and I may be called to give my life for the sake of the Gospel. In Hebrews 11, some had it easier and some had it harder, but nevertheless, they all pleased God.  Think about the following lessons of faith that the Hebrews 11 Tribe teaches us:

1. Offer God just a little bit more than your usual sacrifice will .  The only thing that distinguished Abel's sacrifice from Cain's was that Abel's sacrifice was a little "more excellent" (Abel)
2. Please God by walking with Him (Enoch)
3. Obey God's voice and do what He tells you even when you have no idea what God is doing (Noah)
4. Judge God to be faithful (Sarah)
5. Dedicate your children to the Lord and know that they really belong to God and He can do what He wants with them  (Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac)
6.  Speak faith and encouragement into the lives of others (Joseph when he spoke to the Israelites about God's future for them).
7. Fight for your children to ensure that they have a future (Moses's parents when they hid him so he wouldn't be killed by Pharoah).
8. Choose God above everyone else, even your own family (Moses when he refused to be called the son of Pharoah)
9.  Believe God for amazing miracles  (the Israelites when they crossed through the Red Sea).
10.  Help those who are doing God's work (Rahab when she hid the spies to protect them).

The end of Hebrews 11 goes on to say that others conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained  what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword, some had their weakness turned to strength and some became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.  Women received back their dead, raised to life again, others were imprisoned, persecuted, tortured, murdered for the name of God.  They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute.  They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. Basically, they had no permanent homes, they were poor and sometimes lacked their basic necessities. Each had a different calling and was asked to show their faith in a different way.  So I leave you with this question.  How is God asking you to demonstrate your faith?  Don't despise living out your faith in simple day-to-day ways and don't despair when God asks you to show your faith through enormous trials and tests.   Like someone once said, the will of God will not take you where the grace of God will not lead you. In the small things and in the great things, your faith will bring God glory.