Without Faith It Is Impossible
Hebrews 11:1-6 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. As followers of the Lord, we don’t see the Lord in the physical form, but we have strong conviction, absolute certainty, of His existence. We can see time and time again throughout the Bible that people held onto this conviction of God’s presence and had assurance that their dedication, service, and sacrifice to God would be well pleasing to Him. They took great risks with their lives and their futures by following the Lord.
The writer of Hebrews goes tells of many such accounts of those who took risks on account of their faith (such as Rahab) and were protected by the Lord. The writer describes people (Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc.) who blindly followed the Lord not knowing what was next and the Lord revealed His plans in due time and blessed them.
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is a great example of how faith works with specific recounts of people who placed their faith in the Lord. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. How can we please God if we do not believe in His existence? If we wish to draw near to God and know Him, we must place our faith in His very existence. Then something remarkable happens when we place our faith in Him and we let Him lead the way; we can finally stop worrying about everything knowing that the Lord has a plan that will work together for good. His plan won’t be our plans. His thoughts won’t be our thoughts. But His plan will be the best one yet. Trust Him. Have faith in Him and draw near.