“And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise” (Hebrews 11:39).
It is difficult to resolve the tension between the faith of those mentioned here in Hebrews chapter eleven and the terrible events that befell some of them. When tragic events occur to God’s faithful today, we can draw strength from the encouraging message found in Romans 8:28: “…all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Whenever we face uncertainty regarding the way things have transpired in our lives, we can say that God has a definite purpose behind those events, even if we struggle to understand that purpose. When God allows us to experience those troubles and hardships, it helps to remember that He always has reasons for doing so.
For example, God may allow difficult times to enter our lives to strengthen us (2 Corinthians 12:10) and to increase our trust in Him (Psalm 50:14-15). We can also say that God uses such difficulties to help us develop patience (Romans 5:3-5) and endurance (as we read earlier in Hebrews 10:35-38). God may take the circumstances of our lives and use them as an example to others and demonstrate the proper way to handle trials and problems (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Finally, God may allow difficulties to enter our lives for the purpose of helping others who will later go through similar experiences (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
With these things in mind, it helps to remember that tests do not always take the form of an exam or essay. Instead, the person who can view his or her problems as opportunities to exercise the kind of faith that pleases God is someone who can develop the spiritual endurance that our author will discuss later in the opening verse of the following chapter.
There would be no need for faith if God never allowed us to enter a circumstance that required us to exercise it. Moreover, there are options available to us whenever we face situations that challenge our faith. We can say, “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” Or we can say, “This is an opportunity to exercise the kind of faith that is pleasing to God.” As one commentator has observed, “The OT figures mentioned in ch. 11 did not experience the salvation of Christ’s new covenant during their lifetimes (9:15). Rather, they saw the promise from afar and eagerly awaited its fulfillment (vv. 13, 16).” (1)
(1) John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Heb 11:39.