And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 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.

I get the picture that the writer of Hebrews is trying to prove a point here: if after all the specific stories that he mentioned, I do not believe faith in God is important, then he is just going to “full barrage-mode” my weak faith with this kind attack of proof of the faithfulness of God. God has been so faithful. And he uses us faithful, broken people for unique purposes.

The stories are many in the Old Testament of God using his people to accomplish the extraordinary. He plans for our good works that bring him glory in advance. Those same works build our faith and goodness.

Barak was commanded by the judge of the time, Deborah (via a message of the Lord), to take 10,000 men and go to a certain place and fight. He was weak in his faith and wanted Deborah to come with him. She did and they routed their enemies. Gideon was also weak in his faith and tested God with a fleece. He did this three times before he would obey him. He did obey him. And with 100 men he conquered probably over 100,000 men.

Samson had rare strength yet he had a weakness — a lust for women. And this was his downfall, as he was deceived into trusting a woman with the secret of his strength. However, he rose up with the strength of the Lord again, later in life after he was captured, to conquer the enemies of Israel. Jephtath believed God that he would hand over his enemies to him and made a reckless vow and had to offer his daughter to the Lord as a sacrifice. Horrible, yet faithful nonetheless.

David was a mighty king and also an adulterer and murderer. Samuel served God because his broken mother, who was childless, believed. There are mentions of Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their faith when faced with the lions and the fiery furnace.

In all these examples, and many more, God rewarded the faith of those who served him. He asked some hard things of them. These people made mistakes and were broken, but in the end they were faithful. I think the point I take away here is that it matters to God most where we end up in our faith journey, not where we start. So much emphasis these days is placed on saying a prayer one day (where we start). But the Bible is clear, in so many passages, that God cares more about where we end up, and that is ultimately what salvation hinges on.

“But our way is not that of those who shrink back to destruction, but [we are] of those who believe [relying on God through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by this confident faith preserve the soul.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭39‬ ‭AMP‬‬). This speaks of a faith that persevered to the end.

Lord, thank you for giving us the ability to persevere in our faith as we rely on you. Obedience means following you wholeheartedly until the mission is accomplished, the task is done, and you take us home to heaven. Teach me to stay faithful.