Faith That Believes Even Though It Doesn't Receive

 


Hebrews 11:13-16
All these people were living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting they were foreigners and strangers on the earth. V.14. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. V.15. If they had been thinking of the country, they left, they would have opportunity to return.  V.16. Instead, they were longing for a better country --a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Faith That Believes Even Though It Doesn’t Receive

Consider This

Some of the deepest faith in Scripture is found in people who never saw the full answer to God’s promises during their lifetime. Hebrews 11:13–16 pulls back the curtain on Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants, showing us a faith that kept believing even when the visible results were small. Their lives teach us that real faith isn’t measured by what we receive — but by Who we trust.


What They Had Received (v.13a)

Abraham and Sarah received enough of God’s promise to know He was faithful. Isaac was born. The covenant was spoken. Their journey into the unknown had begun. They held pieces of the promise — early signs, early blessings, early confirmations. God gave them enough to strengthen their confidence, but not enough to complete the picture. They believed and God helped them overcome their unbelief. Indeed, what I call the "God-Faith Mind Set" often begins with partial fulfillment. God gives us glimpses, reminders, and small victories that whisper, “I AM with you.”

What They Did Not Receive (v.13b)

Now, this might be confusing, but don't let if be so: The Holy Scripture says they died “not having received the things promised.” They never saw the full inheritance. They never possessed the land. They never witnessed the great nation God promised. They lived with unfulfilled promises, not because God failed, but because His plan stretched beyond their lifetime; therefore, they happily lived as strangers and foreigners no matter what.

This is where mature faith lives — in the the present challenge between what God has begun and what He has not yet finished.


The God‑Faith Mindset That Keeps Believing Anyway (vv.14–16)

Even without receiving everything, they simply chose to  keep believing. Their mindset was shaped by God, Himself,  not circumstances.

  • They didn’t look back!
    They refused to return to the old country. No nostalgia. No retreat. No second‑guessing their Creator.

  • They didn’t quit trusting.
    Hard seasons didn’t shake them. Delays didn’t discourage them. Their faith was anchored in God’s character, not in visible results.

  • They looked for Heaven.
    They longed for the “better country” — the city God Himself prepared. Their faith lifted their eyes beyond earth’s limitations.

And then Scripture gives us one of the most beautiful statements in the Bible:
“Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.”
God delights in faith that keeps believing even when it doesn’t receive everything.


21st Century Christ-Followers

Modern Christ‑followers live with similar challenges.  Yep! We are a whole lot like Abraham and Sarah:  Sometimes we pray for things that take time. We trust God for answers that seem distant. We hold promises that are only partially fulfilled.

This passage invites us to receive God's gift of the Holy Spirit called Faith. It invites us who believe, to cry out, God, "help me trust you and help me overcome my unbelief."  It invites us to put into practice the same God‑faith mindset:

  • Keep believing even when the answer is slow.

  • Keep trusting even when the evidence is thin.

  • Keep walking forward instead of looking back.

  • Keep longing for the better country that is not made by human hands, the place Jesus bought and paid for on the Cross and sealed by His Holy Eternal Covenant. 

  • Yes, Jesus has gone to prepare for us, who are a prepared people, a home in Heaven.

  • Above all else, no matter what, live by the God-Faith Mind Set because our citizenship is in Heaven.

Faith that believes without receiving is not weak faith — it is enduring faith, and it's the kind that makes God proud to call Himself OUR God.

I Wonder:

Where in your life is God asking you to trust Him without seeing the full picture? What promise have you tasted but not yet received the whole thing? Hebrews 11 reminds us that the heroes of faith lived with forward‑leaning hearts. They walked with God even when the road was long and the answers were distant. Their faith wasn’t defined by possession — it was defined by perseverance.

Prayer

Father,

 Please give me the kind of faith that keeps on keeping on believing even when I don’t receive everything I am looking for. Give me grace to trust what is most important.  Give me grace to trust  Your character more than my circumstances. God, when you say it, that settles it. I really want to believe it. Help me walk forward without looking backwards, and fix my eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and completer of our faith.  Help me fix my eyes on the better country You have prepared. I am sincerely praying for You to make my life one that moves You to be glad You are my God, and You are happy to call me Your very own child.  

In Jesus Name 

A M E N   !


SoJourner




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