Hebrews 11:8-12 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

The author moves next into the story of Abraham. God called Abraham to go to a new land of promise. Abraham showed faith by following through in obedience and taking those steps of faith. Faith involves action. Most of the time, this will be physical action of moving, of doing something. It may not require moving to a new country, but it will involve our bodies in some type of physical action. Abraham stepped out in faith even though he did not know the final destination. This has sometimes been called “blind faith,” but it is not completely blind. For us today, we can trust in God’s promises based on thousands of years of God’s proven faithfulness to people. The longer time goes on, the more promises we can see and build upon. Verse 10 shows that behind Abraham’s faith was a deeper hope in something he did not even know about: namely the heavenly city. He had an innate sense of God’s greater purpose for him, that it was more than physical land or descendants but was for heaven itself. The greatest promise for any of us is to be with God in heaven.

God also promises Abraham descendants as numerous as the grains of sand and the stars of heaven. Sarah participated in this part of the promise by considering God faithful to his promises. This promise seemed impossible because of their elderly age.  We learn that nothing is impossible for God. When God makes a promise, it will surely come true. Some of God’s promises require our faith to participate and receive them. God’s promise in Jesus Christ was bound to come true but our participation in it depends on our faith.

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