Inducted into the Hall of Faith

Hebrews 11-Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets:

All came by faith. What made the difference between standing tall or sitting small? Was it how they handled the trials?

Abel had to deal with a jealous and disobedient brother who ended up killing him.

Noah had a flood of problems.

Abraham had to hold on for the promise to be fulfilled and then God asked him to sacrifice his son. Abraham also had his wife taken by a king…and lied about it.

Sarah had to go through pregnancy at 100.

Isaac had to deal with twins and sibling rivalry. Isaac also lied about his wife to protect his own hide.

Jacob tried to live down his deception of Esau and ended up facing Esau and 400 fighting men…after a night wrestling an angel
Joseph was thrown into a pit, pulled out and sold as a slave, falsely accused and thrown in prison, and finally exalted to second in the kingdom.

Moses killed an Egyptian and ran…then had to deal with 2 million people on vacation for 40 years. Think perpetual "Are we there yet?"

Rahab hid the spies though it might have cost her life and that of her family. She ended up getting mentioned in the hall of faith as well as being included in Jesus geneology.

Gideon had to worry about his own hometown people that wanted to do him in after he smashed the idols in town before he ever had to go against the Midianites.

Barak had to face Sisera, the general for Jabin, king of Canaan.

Samson had the Philistines, as well as his own internal lust, to fight.

Jephthah’s dad was Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. He was chased off from his own people. He sought to follow God and became a mighty warrior, so much so that when the Ammonites made war on the land of Gilead, they came and asked him to come back and lead them. God granted him victory and he ruled the people, and though illegitimate, is listed in the hall of faith.

David faced a bear, a lion, a giant, an angry king and thousands in Canaan and Philistia. He also had an affair and devised a murder plot as a cover up.

Samuel had to deliver a message to Eli that wasn’t too cool. And he had to stand up to the people when they demanded a king, until God told him to go ahead.

Everyone of them had tough times. Every one of those in the hall of faith are there because they exercised that faith when they came up against the tough spots. Every one of them messed up. The difference between standing tall and sitting small is not whether you blow it or not, but in what you choose to do after you blow it. How do you recover?

Why are they listed as heroes in the Bible? What makes them better than you or me? Nothing…except they learned to go back to God and depend on Him. They learned that even though life isn’t always sunny, that God is also there when the storms come. They continued to seek God even though at times God seemed silent. They chose, ultimately, to put their faith in Him.

Where is your faith? Will you also be inducted into the great Hall of Faith?