[Darris McNeely] None of us like to have our weaknesses exposed. I certainly don't, and I'm pretty sure you don't as well. One of the great lessons though when God begins to deal with us is He's not afraid to show the weaknesses of those who are His heroes. That's what Hebrews chapter 11 is all about, this faith chapter, of people and their examples of faith.

When you go deep into the stories of the Bible of Abraham, of Moses or of Sarah, some of the others, you not only see their faith and their strengths, but you see their weaknesses. And I think there's a statement embedded in this chapter of Hebrews 11 that helps us to understand how it is that God looks at us in this walk of faith that we have.

In Hebrews 11:34 he talks about the general people that are unnamed at this point in the story who quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, and out of weakness were made strong. Out of weakness were made strong. Like I said, God is not afraid to show the foibles, problems, the weaknesses of those with whom He's working with. And that's a lesson about faith that I think comes out of this book. When we look up the stories of the men and women of the Bible we see that they were people who were weak, just like I am, just like you are.

Faith is built out of weakness. In fact, sometimes we can't really begin that walk of faith and come to a life of strong faith until we recognize just how weak we are in relationship to God. Faith is a matter of a lifelong process. Faith is a journey. Faith is a matter of time as it is built within our lives, and it does involve works of righteousness, which we've talked about in this series. It involves a lifetime of obedience, and faith ultimately equals our life. It's not just one incident. It's not just one decision that we make, but it's a lifetime of decisions. And it's a journey. And it's a walk.

Faith equals our life, and when that life is lived within and through the power of Jesus Christ within us according to His way of life, then we will be walking in the same path, the same footsteps of these men and women in Hebrews 11, people who were made strong out of weakness.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.