-Strength for Today- "Be Encouraged!" - Hebrews 11:1-31.

     Reading Hebrews 11:1-31, I find that it’s quite amazing how that one person after another, acting on faith, stepped out of their ranks of “mediocrity,” and trusted God in remarkable ways. And when you read the remaining nine verses of the chapter:

·       You’ll find still others who stood strong, and

·        Refused to give in when the road became rough.   

    You see, there were “men” as well as “women”, “young”, as well as “old” who waited, by faith on the Lord to carry out His purpose in the categories He’d called them to fulfill.

    Even today when we read about these, “hero’s” and “shero’s,” just thinking how great it would be to have them standing nearby, cheers us on. Well, the truth of the matter is that, they are! We can't actually see them with our eyes, nevertheless, they’re surrounding us. Scripture says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us- Hebrews 12:1.

   So there they are, all those “men” and “women” of faith, who have died and gone on to their reward. But they aren't sitting around on clouds strumming on harps, because they, along with many others not mentioned in Hebrews 11, form that "great cloud of witnesses surrounding us." And as we carry on without them today, they are our “stimulant” of hope.

    Because as we carry on without them today, they “encourage” us to:

·       Stand strong, and to

·       Run the race of life,

With “discipline” and “diligence”. Now this is a great thought, because even in our failing moments, “spiritually” we’re encouraged to stand and slug it out in life’s frustrating trenches.

Therefore, this “great cloud of witnesses” are “encouraging us” with a direct and purposeful cause, with God’s intent and purpose in mind, believing that the best is yet to come!

Author: Plez Lovelady, Jr., PhD