Faith is often spoken of as belief.

But faith is more than belief.

Faith moves.

Faith chooses.

Faith acts.

And when faith becomes pure enough, it confronts Fear.

Hebrews chapter 11 begins:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

That statement immediately places Faith beyond the boundaries of the senses.

The things hoped for have not yet arrived.

The evidence cannot yet be seen.

And still, Faith responds as though there is something more real than what the eyes can presently observe.

This is where the fearlessness of Faith begins.

Fear asks:

What if?

Faith asks:

What has God said?

Fear studies the visible circumstances.

Faith considers the Invisible Reality behind them.

Fear measures the power of the obstacle.

Faith measures the faithfulness of God.

There is an important difference.

Fear does not always begin because danger is present.

Fear often begins because information is incomplete.

We do not know what will happen.

We do not know where the road will lead.

We do not know whether we will succeed.

We do not know what waits beyond what we can presently see.

And into this lack of information Fear attempts to speak.

But Hebrews 11 introduces another voice.

The voice of Faith.

Noah: Faith Before Evidence

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark…”

Noah was warned about something he had not seen.

That is important.

His eyes could not provide the evidence.

His previous experience could not provide the evidence.

The world around him could not provide the evidence.

Yet he acted.

Faith allowed him to respond to information that had not yet become visible Reality.

The ark was therefore more than a boat.

It was physical evidence of an invisible conviction.

Every board placed into that vessel was a declaration:

I believe what God has said more than I believe what my present surroundings appear to say.

This is fearless Faith.

Not because Noah knew there was no danger.

He built because danger was coming.

His Faith did not remove the reality of danger.

It removed danger’s authority over his obedience.

Abraham: Leaving Without Knowing

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

There are few sentences that describe Faith more clearly.

He went out, not knowing.

Human nature prefers to know before moving.

Where are we going?

How long will it take?

What will happen when we arrive?

What will it cost?

Will we be safe?

Will we succeed?

Abraham did not receive all those answers.

He received a call.

And the call became sufficient.

Fear would have demanded a map.

Faith required only the Voice.

Abraham walked into uncertainty because he trusted the One who called him more than he trusted the security of what he already possessed.

Fear attaches us to what is familiar.

Faith releases us toward what has been promised.

Moses: Choosing a Greater Reality

Moses presents another form of fearless Faith.

Hebrews tells us that when he became mature, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

He chose instead to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

This was not simply religious devotion.

It was a change in Reality.

Egypt represented visible power.

Position.

Security.

Wealth.

Government.

Military authority.

Human greatness.

Everything the senses could measure told Moses where safety was located.

Yet Faith showed him another value system.

He looked beyond Egypt.

He looked beyond temporary pleasure.

He looked beyond the approval of Pharaoh.

He looked toward a greater reward.

That is why Hebrews later says:

“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”

There is the secret.

He endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.

Moses became fearless toward the visible king because he became conscious of the Invisible King.

One Reality displaced another.

The power of Pharaoh had not disappeared.

But Pharaoh was no longer the highest Reality in Moses’ consciousness.

Faith had changed the scale.

Faith Does Not Deny Danger

The fearlessness of Faith should not be confused with recklessness.

Faith does not say that lions have no teeth.

Faith does not say that fire cannot burn.

Faith does not say that swords cannot kill.

Hebrews 11 openly speaks of danger.

Kingdoms.

War.

Fire.

Violence.

Torture.

Chains.

Imprisonment.

Death.

Faith does not survive by pretending these things are unreal.

Faith survives because it recognizes that they are not Ultimate Reality.

That distinction changes everything.

When Fear becomes the highest authority, every threat becomes absolute.

When God becomes the highest authority, every threat becomes temporary.

Two Kinds of Victory

There is something extraordinary in the second half of Hebrews 11.

Some through Faith:

“subdued kingdoms…”

Some:

“stopped the mouths of lions…”

Some:

“quenched the violence of fire…”

Some:

“escaped the edge of the sword…”

These are victories we easily recognize.

Deliverance.

Escape.

Power.

Survival.

But the chapter does not stop there.

Others were tortured.

Others were mocked and scourged.

Others were placed in chains and prisons.

Others were stoned.

Others were slain.

And Scripture says that they also acted through Faith.

This teaches us something very important.

Faith is not only proven when the fire goes out.

Sometimes Faith is proven when a person walks through the fire without surrendering the soul.

Faith is not only proven when the prison door opens.

Sometimes Faith is proven when the body remains imprisoned but the Spirit remains free.

Faith is not only proven when life is preserved.

Sometimes Faith is proven when even death cannot force a person to abandon Truth.

There are therefore two kinds of victory.

Faith may change the circumstances.

Or Faith may change the power the circumstances have over us.

Both are victories.

The Fearlessness of Faith

Fear says:

Protect yourself at all costs.

Faith says:

Obey Truth at all costs.

Fear says:

Believe only what you can see.

Faith says:

There are Realities beyond the range of sight.

Fear says:

You must know everything before you move.

Faith says:

You must know the One who is leading you.

The men and women of Hebrews 11 were not fearless because there was nothing to fear.

They were fearless because something greater than Fear governed them.

Faith enlarged their Reality.

They saw promises that had not yet arrived.

They heard a Voice beyond the noise of the world.

They acted upon Truth before that Truth became visible.

And even when the body was threatened, their Faith refused to surrender the soul.

This, to me, is the fearlessness of Faith.

It is not the absence of uncertainty.

It is not the absence of suffering.

It is not the absence of danger.

It is the presence of a conviction so deep that Fear can no longer determine the direction of your life.

Hebrews 11 calls this Faith.

And Faith says:

Go forward.