Hebrews 11:32-40 In success or suffering, God’s promise of a better future is ours in Christ!

It might have been going to the top of a mountain, to the shoreline of the ocean, to the edge of the Grand Canyon or into outer space. These are all places we dream about visiting as kids, and as adults too. When compared with our home and hometown, these far off or different places seem better.

We may also have dreamed of a place that is safe and warm with something to eat in the refrigerator and a loving family to eat with. When compared with abuse and neglect, a place like that is better. In times of suffering and loss, we hope for something better, and hope may be the only thing we have. But even living in relative success and comfort, we still hope for more and are not satisfied.

We are called to keep our faith in God through success or suffering. In our New Testament reading from Hebrews 11, there is a list of our brothers and sisters in the faith, some of whom saw success and others suffering during their lifetime. The comparative list is not exhaustive of every situation recorded in Scripture but gives a broad selection of historic accounts. First, are listed the miraculous situations granted success by the hand of God listed as those, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. These accounts might inspire us to a courageous prayer life with the hope of sharing Jesus in the face of adversity and even witnessing something miraculous, or they may fill us with questions and empty us of confidence when we do not see the great things we ask for happen. After those accounts are listed, the examples come of those who were characterized by suffering, 35 … There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. This second set of scenarios ought to bring us to our knees in thanksgiving that we are not experiencing such trauma, while also giving us an appreciation for the strength God gives to his people to endure. Indeed, those who have endured such things were beacons of light in the dark world and those who persecuted them ought to have been filled with shame. There is a striking difference in the lives of these two groups, yet they all shared the same hope in a better life from God in heaven through our Savior Jesus.

We endure both success and suffering in our lives. Each of us has a different proportion and extent to which we experience success and suffering. Despite the differences in our success and suffering, these give us the opportunity to grow closer or farther away from God. As you heard the list in Hebrews 11, there are some believers from the past that you would love to have been or at least have lived at their time to see the miraculous hand of God working. And there are others that we ought to imitate for their endurance in faith through the hardships and persecutions of their times.

As a congregation, we are a spectrum of success and suffering. Some of us struggle to keep our faith in God for all we have suffered, while others of us enjoy so much success that we forget to even give an occasional nod of thanks to God. Success and suffering both pose a threat to our faith, and our sinful nature thrives on the saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” For those stuck in suffering yearning for even a moment of success, we are reminded of its pitfalls like Adam and Eve being given the whole world, then trading it for a piece of fruit, or Noah being saved from the flood only to get drunk shortly after getting back on dry ground. Or King David basking in his military might, which was the Lord’s to give, falling into temptation with Bathsheba and plotting the murder of her husband, and Peter who confessed Jesus as the Messiah, then denied him three times.

And for those who credit themselves with their success, we are reminded of the clarity suffering can bring. Those who suffered saw God’s better plan as with the diseased and destitute Job who clung to hope in his Redeemer, Jeremiah who hoped in the heavenly Jerusalem while the earthly Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and the prisoner Paul who faced brutal beatings and multiple near death experiences all because his freedom had been paid in full with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Our life experience threatens to blind us from seeing our future with God. We are tempted to believe that our success or suffering in this world is all God intends for us. Heaven can seem so far away or such an impossible reality because we do not feel worthy of joy, healing and peace. Or heaven may have little appeal against the present pleasures of a privileged life. When we lose sight of our future with God, our future will only be worse, the worst kind of suffering in hell.

Hebrews 11 offers both ends of the success and suffering spectrum to remind us that this world is not all God intended for us. God’s desire is that we keep our faith in him in all circumstances, understanding that what he has planned for us in heaven is better. God has not yet brought us all to heaven and ended the world because there are more people he wants to bring into his kingdom as we read in Hebrews 11, 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. All the believers listed in Hebrews 11 and the situations they endured worked together so that Jesus would be born to give his life on the cross for our sins, and so that the message of his coming would be shared throughout the world.

As with those who went before us, we are not experiencing the full benefits of our faith. We still believe, trust and hope in what we do not see. Our confidence remains in the unseen because Jesus has forgiven our sins through his sacrifice on the cross, given us his righteousness and guaranteed our resurrection to eternal life through his resurrection. In heaven we will be made perfect and live eternally with God who loves us. This is the goal of our faith, and it is stated in all its triumphant glory in our Old Testament reading from Revelation 21, 1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea… 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them… 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Our current circumstances are not the end; God has something better planned for us in heaven.

We will not get everything God promised us in this life. We are going to be unsatisfied until we reach heaven. The believers who have gone before us knew this, and they were content with this truth because we were yet to be born. In the same way, we are content in our circumstances knowing that there are still more people God wants to gather into his kingdom. Our faith is not in relief or reward in this life. We may not receive the cure, money, relationship, reputation or other form of success in this life that we want. Instead, we are the blessed sufferers who believe in Jesus and look for our reward in heaven as we hear in our Gospel reading from Luke 6, 20 Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” Our faith, belief, trust and hope are in Christ who is better. Often, we dismiss what time with Jesus does for us. When we have success and spend time with Jesus, we live with gratitude and generosity, rather than being lost to greed or arrogance. When we suffer and spend time with Jesus, we find endurance, strength and a faithful friend, rather than being lonely, anxious and empty. Jesus is waiting to return to bring us and so many others to the goal of our faith. With Jesus our future will be better because God’s plan is to bring us to heaven.

We might have dreamed of going to mountain peaks, ocean shores, the Grand Canyon or outer space as kids. Or we may have dreamed of a safe and warm home with something to eat in the refrigerator and a loving family to eat with, which are far better than a house of neglect and abuse. In Hebrews 11, there is a list of our brothers and sisters in the faith, some of whom saw success and others suffering during their lifetime. Though their lives were different, they all had the same hope in a better life from God in heaven through our Savior Jesus. Success and suffering in our lives can grow us closer to or farther away from God. God’s desire is that we grow closer and keep our faith in him because in success or suffering, God’s promise of a better future is ours in Christ. Amen.

Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church