Daily Encouragement:

Faith is necessary to understand God and his creation. It makes sense of the sufferings and trials of life. Without faith, it’s impossible to understand the world and it’s impossible to please the Lord.

Faith changes how you live now because you trust in what is coming later. Abel can offer the better sacrifice because he believes God rewards those who trust him. He can offer up his best now when he trusts in better things to come.

Enoch walked with the Lord by faith. Not in Eden as it was meant to be but by faith in this cursed world. He had fellowship with God outside of Eden but that same faith delivers him to Eden when he is taken up.

In other words, you can have fellowship with the Lord too by faith in his name. You can understand the world in large part because you understand what’s coming later. Abraham can live as a foreigner in the land because his eyes are fixed on the heavenly city that is to come.

Why would we, let’s say, cheat on our taxes or on a test to live in a city that will pass away when we have the promise of living in the heavenly city? We must look to the prize that comes at the finish line.

Let’s live in the desert now as though Eden is our forever home with him. Let’s live in fellowship with the Lord by faith through the Holy Spirit now in this strange land knowing that better country awaits us. Now we see dimly. Now we fellowship in the Spirit which is a down payment of our inheritance to come. One day we will see his face!

Hebrews 11:1

[1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.