At times you may have
wondered, Has anyone else ever experienced the
kinds of problems I'm experiencing right now, or am
I out here all alone?
No, you're not alone! Hebrews 11 records the
remarkable feats of faith accomplished by various
people in the Old Testament. These were people who had
to fight and struggle as they waited for the object of
their faith to manifest. Their walk of faith was a
great, great challenge.
Because these Old Testament saints stayed with what
God had told them to do and never gave up, they
eventually saw His blessings begin to operate in their
lives. Nevertheless, nearly all of them endured great,
difficult hardships and challenges before their
victory came. To let us know that we're not alone in
our own walk of faith, the writer of Hebrews says,
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and
let us run with patience the race that is set before
us" (Hebrews 12:1).
Notice that it says, "Wherefore seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses...." The phrase "compassed about" is taken
from the word peikeimenai, which is a compound
of the words peri and keimai. The word
peri means around or to be
completely encircled by something. The second
part of the word keimai means to lie down.
When these two words are compounded into one word,
they mean to lie around, as if something has
been piled high and is lying all around
you on every side. This is the portrayal of
being completely encircled by something that
is stacked high on every side!
Therefore, this verse carries the following
idea:
"Wherefore seeing we have lying all around us on
every side." "Wherefore seeing these biblical
examples are
piled up and lying all around us..."
The Bible is piled high with examples of people - people
just like you - who stood in faith and endured
difficulties in order to do the will of God. You are
surrounded on every side with powerful examples of
people who were challenged in their faith, yet who
held fast to the Word of God. And as a result, these
godly people saw God's promises come to pass in their
lives!
You are not alone!
- Look at Noah and the fight he endured.
- Look at Abraham and the fight he endured.
- Look at Sarah and the fight she endured.
- Look at Jacob and the fight he endured.
- Look at Joseph and the fight he endured.
- Look at Moses and the fight he endured.
- Look at Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah, David,
Samuel, and the prophets and the fight they all
endured.
Take some time today to read some of these examples
from the Old Testament - and then turn to the New
Testament to see the many examples of faithful people
who are also listed there. The Bible is packed full of
examples of those who heard from God, who took His
Word deep into their hearts, and who refused to stop
until they saw the fulfillment of what God had
promised them. Like you, they faced hardships and
challenges. But no matter what obstacles stood in
their way, they kept going and never stopped until
God's plan for their lives was accomplished.
According to Hebrews 12:1, there are so many people
who fit this description that they are literally lying
all around you. And don't think you can only look to
the Bible for these godly examples. If you look
closely, you'll see that there are huge numbers of
these "never-give-up" kind of people living on this
earth right now as well. You are not alone in your
walk of faith! Don't let the devil tell you that
you're the only one who has faced this kind of
circumstance, because many have gone before you who
have faced the same battles and won great victories.
If you'll commit a few minutes of your time to read
Hebrews 11, I believe you'll find that your battle
isn't worse than the battles these saints fought and
won. Reading these verses will encourage your heart!
Don't give up and throw in the towel! Hard times will
pass, and you will see the Word of God bring you the
victory you desire. When you're tempted to get
discouraged, just remember the many examples piled
up all around you of people who endured and later
won their prize |