Why Would Looking To Old Stories of Faith Help Us Today?
We are shaped by the stories we encounter. The stories we hear and experience form the lens through which we view the world around us. For those of us who are Christians, it is the story of Jesus Christ that has brought us together and continues to shape our lives in profound ways. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, this story is real, powerful, and transformative.
While stories can certainly entertain, the true beauty of a well-told narrative lies in its ability to make the abstract concrete. The Scriptures are filled with accounts of ordinary people walking with God in real-life situations, taking the truths He revealed and applying them amid the complexities of their daily lives. These stories were then retold throughout generations, not merely as moral platitudes, but as glimpses into the very character and priorities of God Himself.
In the book of Hebrews, the author masterfully retells many of these ancient narratives to a weary audience questioning whether remaining faithful to Jesus is truly worth the cost. By reframing familiar tales around the fulfilled promises of Christ, this writer issues a powerful call to endurance.
Yet even within this masterful book, we encounter the exception – the person wondering how Old Testament figures experienced salvation before Christ’s advent. How could those who preceded Jesus’ earthly life and ministry be made right before God? Were they simply out of luck until the Savior arrived?
It is to address this exception that the writer dedicates an entire chapter to recounting the lives of the faithful from generations past. Men and women like Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham are held up as shining examples of what it looks like to actively believe God’s promises, even when their ultimate fulfillment remained unseen.
Abel offered a sacrifice honoring God’s worth rather than giving Him mere leftovers. Walking in simple obedience, Abel’s humble act was approved because it flowed from a heart posture of faith – a willingness to give God his very best without fear that doing so would leave him lacking. Too often we withhold out of a mentality of scarcity, but Abel’s life reminds us that our Father delights in replenishing those who trust Him completely.
We see this kind of whole-life faith again through Enoch, whose daily lifestyle was quite literally described as “walking with God.” No grandiose achievements or heroic feats are recorded, simply the beautiful picture of abiding in God’s presence each day. The author then drops one of Scripture’s most well-known affirmations: “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Enoch’s ordinary yet extraordinary faith-walk revealed the heart of all true belief – to seek God’s face and embrace the reality of who He is.
Noah’s example goes further, depicting faith as obedience amid a scoffing world. Surrounded by cultures choosing their own definitions of right and wrong, Noah stood apart by simply taking God at His word. When instructed to build an ark in preparation for a storm the likes of which had never been seen, Noah didn’t argue or demand explanations. He opted to trust the One who called him, even when those around him surely mocked the futility of his actions.
What could easily have been lost as offhand genealogical trivia in the Old Testament accounts instead becomes profound portraits of faith through the writer of Hebrews’ skillfult retelling. These were no Supernatural heroes, but flawed, imperfect people who chose to remain steadfast in their belief that God would make good on every promise, no matter how farfetched or seemingly impossible.
For each – Abel, Enoch, Noah – their faith was a humble act of choosing aliveness to God over the visible realities or cultural voices swirling around them. They could neither predict nor control the outcomes their actions would birth. All they could cling to was the certainty of God’s character as a promise-keeper.
This same co-narrative is what the book of Hebrews is driving towards. The heroes of old are upheld as examples of what it means to actively trust, but their acts of faith merely pointed towards the ultimate Promise that was yet to come – Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest, the perfect sacrifice, and the only means of restored relationship with God.
For those early believers struggling amid persecution and trials, these ancient stories offered a powerful reminder – our present difficulties do not negate the permanence of God’s promises. Just as He proved Himself faithful to those who endured by faith across the centuries, so too would He remain faithful to a struggling community of Jesus-followers. The same unending life and eternity in God’s presence that Enoch secured will ultimately be the reality for all who persevere in faith.
The exhortation for us today remains the same – to embrace the same spirit of steadfast trust exemplified by the ancients, but with our eyes fixed on the full revelation of God’s promises found in Christ. Like Noah condemned the wickedness around him simply by his faithful obedience to God’s instructions, we too have the sanctifying opportunity to reveal the truth by our lives. The coherence of our actions with our stated beliefs provides a stark contrast that can shine light into dark places.
Yet even more critically, the decision to live out of God’s promises, no matter how implausible they may seem in our present reality, enables us to fully experience the life, joy, and freedom Christ secured for us. When our faith moves beyond mental assent into concrete, embodied acts of trust, no earthly circumstance can uproot us from the surety of who God is.
For the person desperate to experience healing, redemption, or breakthrough, there is no testimony more powerful than to witness someone fully embracing God’s promises with every fiber of their being. When we cling to His faithfulness rather than temporary circumstances, we reveal the pathway to the restoration all hearts truly crave.
Of course, this kind of lifestyle isn’t rooted in moral righteousness or heroic achievements. It simply requires making the choice to get up each day and take God at His word, no matter how foolish our actions may seem to the world. Just as God Himself entered into seemingly scandalous, risky situations to draw near to His people, He beckons us into that same bold vulnerability.
Those who have gone before us – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and countless others – opted to obey God’s voice over and against the cacophonous cultural noise of their day. They learned that while blind faith can breed fear, taking God’s promises to heart produces remarkable clarity in the midst of chaos. Their faithful choices openly defied the wisdom of their times and made them appear foolish. Yet God honored that humble trust by reshaping their present circumstances into powerful stories of His providence.
For those of us feeling weary or faltering in our own faith, we have this same decision before us. Will we allow the visible realities we see and cultural voices we hear to shrink back in fear and self-preservation? Or will we embrace the upside-down Kingdom way of faith by entrusting our lives more fully to the One whose promises never fail?
It is only when we fully surrender to the leading of Christ that we are finally able to live in that integrated, undivided life He intended – to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. When Jesus truly becomes our singular object of faith, His presence is what reminds us we are never alone, even when we cannot feel it in the moment.
So may we boldly inscribe this same story upon our churches, communities, and spheres of influence. Where circumstances shout uncertainty, may our lived faith shout back the certainty of God’s promises. Where voices clamor for compromise, may our joyful obedience reveal the path to true freedom and restoration.
Just as the stories of Abel, Enoch, Noah, and the faithful ones who followed echoed down through the centuries bearing witness to God’s character, so too may the story of our faith produce a profound legacy that shapes generations to come. For in the end, the most powerful story is simply the one of God’s people putting His promises into action each day, making the invisible reality of His truth visible through their lived obedience.
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