Persevering Faith

Persevering Faith and the Inheritance We Wait For

Christians live with a unique tension. We are participants in the new covenant, sharing in God’s promises through Jesus. We know that one day, we will experience the fullness of these promises—a new heaven and earth, perfect holiness, and unbroken fellowship with God. But, while these promises are real, we don’t experience them in their completeness in our daily lives. We have a “positional reality” in Christ: because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:4–7). This means that our promised inheritance is truly ours, even if its full fullness is not yet visible.

Before we realize these promises in their fullest, we are called to have a persevering faith, one that trusts in God's timing and remains steadfast in Him. Hebrews 11 provides us with an example of such faith in the story of Abraham, who demonstrated this trust in a way that may seem unfathomable to us. Hebrews 11:17–19 recalls the story of Genesis 22, where God asked Abraham to offer up his son Isaac on the altar—a command that would seemingly threaten God's own promise.

Abraham’s faith was tested in an extraordinary way. God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, yet He had delayed in fulfilling this promise. Only after years of waiting and wondering did Isaac, the “child of promise,” arrive. Isaac was to be the one through whom God’s promise of a great nation would be fulfilled. Imagine Abraham’s confusion and fear when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham must have wondered how God could fulfill His promise if Isaac, the promised child, were to die.

Yet, Abraham’s response testifies to his deep faith. He trusted that God would remain true to His Word. Hebrews 11:19 explains that Abraham had such confidence in God’s promises that he believed God could raise Isaac from the dead if necessary. Abraham’s faith reconciled the apparent inconsistency between God’s command and His promise. Even though the situation seemed to make no sense, Abraham believed that God could do the impossible to fulfill His Word.

Theologian John Owen captured the essence of Abraham’s faith, stating, “Sometimes, through God’s providence, there may appear to be inconsistency between God’s commands and His promises. Nothing but faith bowing the soul to divine sovereignty can reconcile this.” Abraham’s faith teaches us that even when we face difficult or perplexing commands, we can trust in God’s faithfulness and sovereign power. True faith doesn’t require us to understand all the details but to trust that God’s purposes will always prevail.

As we wait for the promises of God to be fully realized, we will surely encounter moments where it seems God’s Word and His actions don’t make sense to us. A clear example of this is the prophecy of the Messiah and the expectations of the Jews. Isaiah 53 speaks of a suffering servant who would bear the sins of many, a vision of the Messiah that seemed contradictory to the expectation of a victorious ruler, as prophesied in Zechariah 9:10. Yet, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we now see how God’s promise of a reigning Messiah is consistent with His suffering on the cross. Both were necessary for our salvation and for Jesus’ ultimate victory.

In moments when God’s will feels unclear or His ways are difficult to grasp, remember Abraham’s story and choose to trust in God’s unchanging nature. Our understanding may be limited, but we can resolve in our hearts to hold fast to God, confident that His promises are secure even when they are not fully revealed in our day-to-day lives.

Living in light of God’s promises means actively trusting Him, even when we don’t see the entire picture by placing our hope in the inheritance that is ours in Christ. This way of living helps us endure with patience and persevering faith, knowing that we are, indeed, “seated with Him in the heavenly places.”

We should encourage one another each day that the promises of perfect holiness, a new creation, and unbroken fellowship with God are not distant dreams but certainties secured by Jesus. As we walk through life here on earth with its uncertainties, follow Abraham’s example and trust that God, in His sovereignty, will work all things according to His plan.


Credit: Ron Kelley