Hebrews 11

On Keeping the Faith

LoveLetter November 2021

Hello Friends,

I’m writing from my garden room—windows open, laundry happening, renovation noises going strong (kitchen makeover). Kids are in school, Shane is at work, and the chickens are now safely tucked away in their own little corner of paradise— at the other end of the yard. Their digging was wreaking havoc on my garden, so I thought we might have to give them away. Thankfully, Shane was inspired to build them a run last weekend, so they get to stay. I’m happy! The chickens seem a little depressed, but hopefully this weather will cheer them up.

News on the Homefront

The biggest thing going on around here is the kitchen makeover… we became kitchen-less on October 1st—that’s the tear-out picture above and that first day was really exciting because the kitchen suddenly became so open and spacious! I almost wanted to just leave it that way. But then there’s that little issue of cooking and washing dishes and stuff like that, so we opted to keep going and fill the room up with cabinets, countertops, appliances—the whole nine yards. We are on the home stretch now and I am so thankful for my new kitchen, and thankful it’s almost finished!

To welcome the autumn weather, on the first night that was barely cool enough to enjoy it, we struck up a fire in the fire pit. The kids love when we build a fire—fireside times make such good memories. We invited our neighbors to come and share spiced milk with us, and then we roasted marshmallows. Yona likes to roast them, but she doesn’t like them roasted, so she roasts a few for someone else, and then she eats a few raw marshmallows. Ezra’s favorite thing about the fire is putting it out at the end with the water hose. So everybody was happy.

Word of Encouragement

Faith

Faith is the word of the hour in my garden room… I continue to pray for more and more revelation of what faith is really about. Hebrews 11 talks about men and women who were counted righteous in God’s eyes, not because of their exceptional skills, their strength, their good deeds, smarts, looks, or high position, but because of their faith.

Genesis 15:6

When God came to Abraham (then, Abram) and promised him that his descendants would outnumber the stars, Genesis 15:6 records the response of Abram’s heart: And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

The word for believe in Hebrew is ‘aman, derived from another word yamen. Both words mean to ‘go to the right’ or ‘use the right hand.’ So the word believeis connected to the idea of the right hand. 

The Hebrew language, like our unsearchable God, is fascinating and rich and full of mysteries and treasures. In an article about yamen, Chaim Bentorah writes about several Hebrew words that share a numerical value with yamen (the numerical value of the letters Yod, Mem, and Nun, the Hebrew spelling of yamen, add up to 100). Here are some words that share the numerical value 100, and are connected to believe in this way: Chaka which means wait; Yadah which means praise; yadyad which is the word for beloved friend, and literally means hand in hand. Bentorah writes “two people joining their right hands, like in a handshake, were really saying that they were going to share their hearts with each other.”

He also explains that the right hand in Hebrew culture metaphorically represents strength and power. 

Going to the Right Hand of God

When we choose to believe God, we are “going to the right hand” of God—He is steadfastly Strong and Powerful, and we exchange our weakness for His strength and power when we entrust our hearts and our circumstances to Him. When we believe, we are leaning on our strong and powerful Beloved, sharing hearts with God—hand in hand. We chakah—wait. And we yadah—praise!

I used to think of faith almost like a wishing well. 1) Say a prayer (make a wish) 2) have faith (believe really hard).  And then God measures my faith, and if there is enough, He’ll give me what I asked for.

Hebrews 11:13

But…Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah…These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth (Hebrews 11:13).

These all believed—they saw through ‘faith eyes’—the unseen realm of God’s promises, His mysterious ways, His ability to do the impossible. It was their faith—before any promise was fulfilled, before any prayer was answered— that pleased God. Their heart’s response to God’s voice. Their faith (believe + obey) response was bringing the better offering, building the ark, or just believing what God said.

Hebrews 11:2

That faith response was what God was looking for, and Hebrews 11:2 says that by [their faith] the elders obtained a good testimony. God did keep his promises, but many times, men and women of faith did not witness the fulfillment of those promises in this life.

He speaks to us too, just like He spoke to Abraham—His Spirit to our spirit. God speaks through His written Word. He also communicates with us in a silent thought, through a conversation with a friend, by way of an article we read, in a theme that returns throughout the day or through the week, on a podcast, through a song we hear, in the whisper of the wind outside the window.  He is so often speaking. How does my heart respond to His voice? 

Our Faith is Precious to God

With unfulfilled promises or unanswered prayer, we may feel hurt or angry when we think of God. We may be wrestling with Him. We may be grieving and feeling lost. It is in the midst of these challenges that I believe our faith is most precious and treasured of the Lord, who has, in His infinite and pure love, given us total freedom—to embrace or reject Him in our pain. 

Faith that Moves Mountains

If we have chosen to love and believe God, then we are on a faith journey. Sometimes we are full of faith, sometimes not so much.  Our faith may feel so small sometimes, but Jesus said we only needed faith as big as a mustard seed. That’s not much. There’s just a little tiny bit there. The reason a tiny bit of faith can move a mountain is that when we believe something we can’t see, we are ‘going to the right hand’ of God. We are turning to His Strong and Powerful right hand. It is that Strong and Powerful right hand that moves mountains.
 

Prayer Requests

Send me a note with any prayer requests. I want to ‘go to the right hand’ of God with you!

Heart Matters

Here are some reflection questions. Ask yourself these questions and journal your answers.

1.  When God is speaking to me, which He does in a myriad of ways, do I recognize that it’s Him? How have I heard Him speak to me recently?
2.  Is there something that I have been wrestling with God about? (Sometimes it can help to write Him a letter about how you are feeling, your hurts, doubts, questions, fears, disappointments.)
3.  Have you felt like ‘giving up’ lately? Do you feel like you have been fighting discouragement? (I admit that I have been!) If so, pray and ask God to give you some scriptures that will encourage you and ‘lift up your head,’ and bring you hope.

I am praying this for myself and for all of you. Stay encouraged, don’t lose heart… Keep the faith God has put in your heart, no matter how small, don’t let that flicker of faith go out. He is still working on your behalf—He does not forget us! 

Psalm 3:3

But You, Oh Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3).

Love,

Chalis