The author of the Letter to the Hebrews has a great deal to teach us about faith and how faith works in the life of the servant of God. In 11.13-16 we read: All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. The promises of God are valid even if they do not come into perfection within our expectations.

When Abraham agreed to go with God into that land of promise he did so merely on the promise of God with no visible validation of that promise: And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. He did not know what to expect except that God’s promise was truth and he was willing to walk in into being by faith.

Nothing drove these faith-filled people away from where they lived and they could have returned at any time: If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. They did not know exactly how God was to fulfill his promise, but they were absolutely convinced that his word was true for them.

God’s response to the faith of these servants was a heart full of love for them and the desire to provide them with even more than was promised: Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. God’s word is always good, and his promise to Abraham is no different than his continuing promise to those who follow in the steps of that servant—WE WHO ARE FAITHFUL!