“…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
When things go wrong, or when things go right, Todd and I often quote the end part of this verse. You’ll hear us saying, “God rewards those who diligently seek him.” I really had never taken the time to understand how the whole verse came together until now.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that we can’t please God without faith. So that means the converse is true. We CAN please God with faith. Which makes me ask, faith in what? The verse even answers that question! If we want to please God there are two things that we need to believe in that require faith. This first is that we must believe God exists. For some this is hard because God is spirit and you can’t see him with your natural eyes. Like the wind, God is not visible, but we can see how He effects things.
Secondly, this verse teaches us that if we want to please God we must believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Even when you don’t see it yet! When the bills are still mounting and the problems are still around, you have to believe that God is going to reward you for seeking him. Hebrews 11:1 teaches that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Be sure that our loving God will reward you! His word promises it! “This is what the LORD says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD! (Jeremiah 31:16)
Prayer
Father, today I pray like the desperate dad in Mark 9:24, Lord, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”. By a work of your spirit, please give me the gift of faith to believe that you will reward me as I seek you. I thank-you in advance for all of the blessings You’re bringing into my life! In Jesus name, Amen
(WATER IN THE DESERT; Section 3-WATER IN THE WANDERING: TESTING…FOLLOWED BY BLESSING, pgs.112-114).
