OCTOBER 14, 2015
All Safe! All
Well!
Now
faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.— Hebrews 11:1
Read:
Hebrews
11:8-16
In January 1915, the ship Endurance was
trapped and crushed in the ice off the coast of Antarctica. The group of polar
explorers, led by Ernest Shackleton, survived and managed to reach Elephant
Island in three small lifeboats. Trapped on this uninhabited island, far from
normal shipping lanes, they had one hope. On April 24, 1916, 22 men watched as
Shackleton and five comrades set out in a tiny lifeboat for South Georgia, an
island 800 miles away. The odds seemed impossible, and if they failed, they
would all certainly die. What joy, then, when more than four months later a
boat appeared on the horizon with Shackleton on its bow shouting, “Are you all
well?” And the call came back, “All safe! All well!”
What held those men together and kept them alive
over those months? Faith and hope placed in one man. They believed that
Shackleton would find a way to save them.
This human example of faith and hope echoes
the faith of the heroes listed in Hebrews 11. Their faith in the “substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” kept them going through
great difficulties and trials (Heb. 11:1 nkjv).
As we look out upon the horizon of our own
problems, may we not despair. May we have hope through the certainty of our
faith in the One Man—Jesus, our God and Savior.
Thank You, Father, for the promise of forgiveness made
possible by Jesus. May that promise lighten the darkest of our days.
The hope of Jesus shines brightly even on our darkest day.
INSIGHT:
We can take courage and hope from those who
have preceded us in the life of faith. The author of Hebrews lists many
examples of people who acted in faith despite their circumstances and despite
the fact that they had not yet received what “had been promised” (11:39). This
is why Hebrews 11 begins by saying that “faith is the confidence in what we
hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” J.R. Hudberg
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015
