August 21 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

If you have done any amount of reading in the letter to the Hebrews, you know that the new covenant is far more excellent than the old covenant. But the new covenant is still a covenant. That means that it is a relationship to God based on his Word, to which we must respond by an act of faith.

That's why, in chapter 11, the writer can present a survey of the acts of faith. The history of people who acted by faith reaches back to the creation of the world and forward to the church of Christ. At all times God has spoken, and at all times people must respond in faith.

Today, maybe more than ever before, we realize the difficulty and the necessity of faith. Science has had a deep influence on our way of living. The scientific method accepts no evidence unless it has been seen, checked, and double-checked. This method is good and necessary in the fields that are appropriate to it. But the certainties of faith are radically different.

Faith simply means we take God at his word and direct our lives accordingly. All the men and women mentioned in this chapter rested on the promises of God; they did not have any visible evidence that these promises would ever be fulfilled. Yet the promises meant so much to them that they regulated the whole course of their lives in the light of these Words of God.

Things that are future ("hoped for") with respect to everyday experience are present to faith. Things outwardly unseen are visible to the inward eye of faith. For this reason, men and women of faith do things that may seem astounding, heroic, or foolish to an outsider. But whatever they do makes sense to people who have faith. Faith has its own certainty and its own evidence, for faith takes God's Word seriously. The unbeliever says, "Show me, so I may believe." God says, "Believe me, and you will see." God does not want to be checked. He wants to be trusted.

REFLECTIONS

What words would you use to describe your faith in God?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.