At The Way we are about ready to finish our series on “Finding Faith and Courage in Difficult Times.” It is from Hebrews 11. When you read Hebrews 11 and see all the heroes of faith and their exploits, you might not notice that the end of the chapter is far different from the beginning.
There is no doubt about the great acts of faith shown in the beginning. Seas part. Walls tumble. The mouths of lions are shut. Kingdoms topple. Hebrew children survive a fiery furnace. These heroes of faith operated in the awareness and light of the Presence of God … or as one commentator remarked, they worked in the sunshine.
When you get to the end of the chapter, however, things change. “Some men were tortured…and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated….They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.” [vs35b-38 HCSB]
Those heroes had far different acts of faith. They lived their lives not in the sunshine and light of God’s presence, they lived in the shadows. But their testimony of faith spoke volumes and the writer of Hebrews noted that “The world was not worthy of them.” [vs38a HCSB]
Difficulties do happen to people of faith. Sometimes the greatest acts of faith are poured out in those dark times of life that seem impossible to endure, and yet we do. Sometimes the greatest acts of faith are shown when the world and life come crashing down around us, when we experience loss and grief and tragedy. It is then, in the shadows of life, when we cannot sense the Presence of our LORD, yet we hold strong to Him … it is then, that our greatest acts of faith prove worthy of Him.
So, if you are going through difficulties and troubles, hold strong beloved. God is there, walking with you through the shadows. He will never leave you nor abandon you. Your greatest testimony wrought in the shadows will be displayed to all one day in the light.
