Hebrews 11:1-34 takes us through the Old Testament and reminds us of all the miracles that God did on behalf of His people. He delivered Noah and his family from the flood. He delivered Moses and the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. He saved Rabab from the destruction of Jericho. He saved David from Goliath. He saved Daniel from the Lion’s Den. He saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego from the fiery furnace. God did all of this and more.
But what about the others? What about those who didn’t receive miracles? What about those who weren’t spared from their troubles and trials?
“Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” Hebrews 11:35-40
1. Are you willing to suffer for Jesus?
We’ve examined the men and women of the Old Testament who received miracles from God. What about the “others?” What about the nameless “others” in Hebrews 11:35 who were not delivered?
Let’s examine:
A. Their Decision:
They refused to recant or deny God; “that they might obtain a better resurrection.”
B. Their Danger:
Many of them lost their lives because of their faithful testimony for God. Hebrews 11:35-37 says that they “were tortured, not accepting deliverance… Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.”
The Prophet Isaiah is not listed here by name, but he was the one who was “sawn in two” after being stuffed in a hollow log.
C. Their Destiny:
The Bible says that the world was not worthy of these men and women of faith. They all “obtained a good testimony through faith” and “God… provided something better” for them; namely eternal life in Heaven.
God does not promise His people deliverance from all suffering in this world. Note the following verses:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12
“But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra — what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:10-12
“We must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22
God never promised us a problem-free life on earth, but He did promise never to leave us and He promised that His grace would always be sufficient in the midst of our troubles and trials.
Trevin Wax said, “When we say we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we must remember what happened to the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Jesus Himself said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you,' A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:18-20
The good news, however, is this: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
2. Will you continue to trust Jesus even if your circumstances never change?
In the New Testament, God delivered Peter (Acts 12) and Paul (Acts 16) from prison and death. He did not rescue John the Baptist (Matthew 14), James (Acts 12) or Stephen (Acts 7). Countless others have been or will be martyred before Jesus returns:
“I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” Revelation 6:9-11
I don’t know why God sends miracles to some and not to others, but I do know this:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
Tell God that you will trust Him even if your circumstances here on earth never change.
Several men in the Bible decided that they would always trust God; even if God didn’t always deliver them from all of their troubles and trials. Job was a man who knew a great deal about troubles and trials. He said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15) When faced with being thrown into a fiery furnace, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’” (Daniel 3:16-18)
Both of these Scriptures display tremendous love for God and trust in God. Ask God to give you that level of love and trust.
Sometimes God responds to our prayers with a mighty miracle. Sometimes He has another plan. I wanted to share this article with you by Rev. Chuck Lawless entitled, “10 Things to do when God seems to be saying, ‘No.’”
“We’ve all been there. We pray and pray, and it seems God’s answer is ‘no.’ When that happens, here’s what I encourage you to do:
1. Trust His wisdom. He always knows what’s right. He is, in fact, the standard for right.
2. Trust His heart. He loves you more than you can ever know. Lean into that love.
3. Trust His long-term goal. He’s conforming you to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). It may be that His saying ‘no’ right now is part of His plan to get you there.
4. Trust His grace. As He did with the apostle Paul’s request to remove his thorn (2 Cor. 12:7-10), God sometimes tells us ‘no’ because He wants us to see the sufficiency of His grace.
5. Trust His timing. His ‘no’ may actually be a ‘wait,’ but He seldom operates according to our calendar or clock. How long He takes to answer our prayer is up to Him.
6. Trust His record. Read the Bible again, and see God for who He truly is. See the validity of David’s words even when God says ‘no’: “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread” (Ps. 37:25).
7. Check your heart. Where sin reigns (Isa. 59:1-2), when we ask selfishly (James 4:3), or when our marriage relationship is weakened (1 Peter 3:7), we cannot expect God to give us a ‘yes’ response to our requests.
8. Check your ears. Pay attention to the voices you listen to if God has chosen to say ‘no’ for now. Trust God and His Word—listen to Him, and ignore the enemy who wants you to doubt God today and turn away from Him tomorrow.
9. Check your hands and feet. That is, keep serving God with all your being even if you don’t like God’s response to your prayers. Disobedience never leads to more answered prayer.
10. Check your knees. God’s present-tense ‘no’ is seldom a call to stop praying for a legitimate request. Stay on your knees, even if they’re calloused before God answers your prayer.”
So how will you answer these questions? Are you willing to suffer for Jesus? And will you continue to trust Jesus even if your circumstances never change?
