Hebrews 11:8-10
When Hebrews 11:10 says Abraham was “looking forward” (NIV) to the city with foundations, it highlights something vital about faith: it always leans into what’s ahead. Abraham had left Ur, left Haran, left the comforts and familiar gods of his father’s household, but he didn’t only leave-he was moving toward. Faith is not just departure, it is direction.
The past can strengthen faith. David remembered the lion and the bear before he faced Goliath. Israel was told to recall the Red Sea when facing new battles. You and I are called to “forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). Recalling the past builds confidence. But faith is not sustained by nostalgia. Faith always has its eyes fixed forward. Abraham could remember God’s call, but his heart was set toward the city God promised.
Faith does not look backward for permission; it looks forward for fulfillment. That’s why Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Abraham teaches us this posture: even while dwelling in tents, even while surrounded by the instability of wilderness, he fixed his vision on the stability of God’s city.
So faith remembers, but it also anticipates. It recalls the faithfulness of God in yesterday’s victories, but it presses forward to tomorrow’s fulfillment. And when the present feels like tents-fragile, temporary, shifting-we can take courage that faith is looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Let’s pray- Lord, teach me to walk in Abraham’s footsteps of faith. Help me to remember Your goodness in the past without clinging to it, and to keep my eyes forward to the promises You have prepared. When I feel the fragility of my present circumstances, remind me that You are building something eternal and unshakable. Give me the courage to take steps without a map, trusting that Your hand is guiding me toward Your city with foundations. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
