How Can Living on a Promise Help Us Endure Life's Difficulties?

We've all been there - weary and worn out from the unrelenting pressures of life. Jobs, families, responsibilities...they all tug at us constantly, demanding our time and energy. In the midst of these competing priorities, it can be tempting to compartmentalize our lives, neatly segmenting work from home from faith. But God doesn't want us living segregated existences. He desires that we lead integrated lives, fully present and grounded in Him through every waking moment.

The book of Hebrews speaks poignantly to this struggle. Written to a group of believers growing faint in their faith journey, the author drives home a simple yet profound truth - Jesus is better. Not just better in some vague, philosophical sense, but concretely better than anything else vying for our allegiance. With lives too often reduced to chasing temporary circumstances or elusive "lessons," we're reminded that the object of our faith is paramount.

Our faith, the author contends, is meant to be a conduit plugging us into the power source - Jesus himself. Too often, however, we make faith the object, erroneously believing that certain beliefs or actions will inevitably yield certain results. We treat faith like a formula - do this spiritual thing, and that earthly desire will be fulfilled. But faith was never intended to be the end goal, simply the means of responding to and connecting with the true object - God's promises in Christ.

When outcomes don't match our expectations, we're left confused and doubtful. "What's wrong with my faith? Why didn't it 'work' this time?" The problem lies not in a lack of faith, but in making faith itself the goal instead of the pathway to abiding in Christ. Faith divorced from its true object will always leave us empty and disillusioned.

To illustrate this point, the writer of Hebrews takes us on a journey through the lives of the faithful in the Old Testament. From Abel to Enoch to Noah, we see ordinary people living extraordinary lives simply by choosing active belief in God's promises. The most profound example is that of Abraham.

Called by God to leave all security and familiarity behind, Abraham modeled unwavering faith not just in a single grand gesture, but through years of patient perseverance. Can you imagine being invited on an adventure with no knowledge of the destination? No Google Maps, no ETA, not even a vague idea of what lay ahead? Yet Scripture says "...he went out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8).

For Abraham and his traveling companions, the only certainty was God's promise to provide. Each day meant choosing to take another step, even when doubt crept in and the comforts of home beckoned. It's this dogged commitment to staying the course, not just the initial display of faith, that's most inspiring about the patriarch's story.

Sarah's journey mirrors her husband's life of faith. Greeted by an Angel with the mind-bending news that she would bear a child despite her old age, Sarah laughed in skeptical disbelief. Yet God, in his grace, didn't disqualify her from the promise due to a momentary lack of faith. No, he chose to use Sarah precisely in her human frailty and unbelief. The quantity of her faith wasn't the issue - simply the fact that she still possessed a seed of faith allowed God to grow it into something glorious.

Jumping ahead thousands of years, we're able to view stories like Abraham and Sarah's through the lens of Christ's birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. The promised son they waited for ultimately pointed to God's perfect Son who would rescue humanity once and for all. While they didn't live to witness the complete fulfillment, their faithful obedience in the present flowed from a confidence in God's future promises.

We face the same decision today. Will we commit to obeying and abiding in Christ based purely on who He is and what He's done, before any visible breakthrough? It's normal to struggle, to feel worn out and question where God is in the midst of difficulty. But our struggles don't negate the permanence of the promises secured for us through the cross. Jesus has opened the way, giving us access to the eternal city whose architect and builder is God himself.

Clinging to this reality frees us to face each day authentically, without needing tidy formulas or prescribed outcomes. We're invited to confront our doubts and questions honestly before God rather than suppressing them. We can share openly with others, realizing their journeys likely mirror our own wearying experiences. And we're empowered to view life's unplanned interruptions as faith opportunities instead of inconveniences.

Living by faith was never meant to be a straight path, but a lifelong journey of learning to abide fully in Christ - where the object of our faith is constant, but the circumstances are continually shifting. Like the heroes who persisted through years of delay and doubt, we're called to plug into God's power through Jesus and keep following obediently, even when we don't understand the destination.

For those who feel their faith slipping or their stamina waning, take heart - you aren't alone. The book of Hebrews was written specifically to encourage those growing faint on the journey. Jesus promises His continual presence, even when we can't perceive it emotionally. Our best response is to start here: "I am never alone because Jesus walks with me, even if I can't feel His presence." With that foundation firm, we're freed to authentically ask questions, listen to others, and stay alert for promptings from the Spirit in every ordinary moment.

The inspired words of Hebrews echo through the centuries, reminding us that difficulty is normal for those walking by faith. But those same challenges also reveal where our faith is truly grounded. If worldly formulas and results are our pursuit, our souls will inevitably be shaken. But when Jesus truly is our singular object and His promises our aim, no temporal setback can uproot us.

This was the upside-down kingdom Abraham and Sarah inherited - embracing the unseen future promises of God while releasing their grasp on present comforts. By keeping their eyes firmly on the architect of the eternal city, they found remarkable power to endure as "strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13).

May the same be true of us. As the pressures and distractions of this world inevitably rise, may we continually reorient our vision toward the only Promise that never disappoints - the faithfulness of Christ our firm foundation. When that is our object, the mundane is infused with holy purpose and every seen and unseen struggle is ultimately made bearable. For our faith is not in faith itself, but in the One whose promises are eternal and whose presence is unshakable.