40 Days of Faith: Day 14

Hebrews 11:15 – If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

When life becomes painful, confusing, or unfair, the temptation to go back can be overwhelming. We want to go back to what’s familiar, safe, and our life that once made sense. But faith doesn't retreat. It presses forward even when the future is unclear.

Just ask Andrew Brunson, an American pastor who spent over 20 years planting churches in Turkey. He and his wife Norine loved the Turkish people and gave their lives to share the gospel there.

But in 2016, everything changed. Andrew was falsely accused of terrorism and espionage and thrown into prison. He spent two years in isolation, cut off from his family, his church, and his calling. He battled deep despair and spiritual crisis. He was broken.

When he was finally released and returned to the United States in 2018, no one would have blamed him for closing the door on Turkey forever. He had every right to return to comfort, to retreat from his calling, and to move on. But that’s not what he did.

Instead, Andrew continued to speak out for the persecuted church. He expressed his enduring love for the Turkish people and his desire to see the gospel advance—even if it meant personal suffering. He refused to turn back.[1]

 His story mirrors the heart of Abraham and Sarah in Hebrews 11. They, too, left their homeland. When things got hard, they could have gone back—but they didn’t.

 You see, they weren’t just looking for a plot of land—they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. That’s the kind of faith that pleases God. A faith that keeps walking forward, even when it costs you everything.

 In the book of James, we see that God uses suffering to shape us toward perseverance. James 1:2-5 in the NIV states:
 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

 God longs for us to be developed in such a way as to have a persevering spirit. So, the opening line after the greeting in James’ letter is to count our suffering as joy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t count my suffering as joy. As a matter of fact, it is the very thing that makes me want to quit. But this passage lets us know that if we continue, there is a shaping of our lives.

 The Apostle Paul has a similar message in Romans 5:3-5:
 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

 The process of choosing to thank God for the suffering, and continuing to move forward, creates an enduring spirit, shapes our character, and produces hope. This hope isn’t something that is false or foolish. It does not bring shame. No, instead, it comes because in the midst of suffering, we experience the love from God the Holy Spirit. It is here, as we stay, remain, endure, and persevere that we learn things about our wonderful Lord we wouldn’t learn any other way.

 Friend, is there something in your life that’s tempting you to “go back”? Are you clinging to the comfort of the past instead of trusting God with the future? What would it look like today to keep walking by faith?

 Faith is not about taking the easy way back; it is about pressing forward into God’s promises, even when the path is painful or unclear. Abraham and Sarah could have returned to their homeland. Andrew Brunson could have walked away from his calling after prison. But faith gave them endurance to keep going when retreating seemed easier. The same choice is before us. We can long for what is comfortable and familiar, or we can set our eyes on the “better country” God has promised. Today, if you are tempted to quit, don’t go back. Take one step forward in obedience, trusting that your perseverance will produce character, hope, and a testimony that honors Christ.

Prayer:
Father, thank You that You never shrink back from me, even when I am tempted to shrink back from You. Give me the courage to press forward when life is painful or uncertain. Shape my heart through trials, grow my perseverance, and anchor my hope in the heavenly country You have prepared. Keep me from clinging to the past and lead me step by step into the future You have promised. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
 
   [1] Brunson, Andrew. God’s Hostage: A True Story of Persecution, Imprisonment, and Perseverance. Baker Books, 2019.