Running well in our race of faith requires one thing. We must fix our eyes on Jesus, Who is our encourager, our trail blazer, and the One Who empowers us. Running in His strength, with eyes glued to Him, we are guaranteed to win.

Hebrews 11 isn’t simply a documentary on saints and their faith. It’s a foundation that points us to a single inescapable conclusion: We too must run our race of faith, just as they did.

Superior. More excellent. Rooted in strength, power, and dominion. This is what Hebrews means when it describes Jesus Christ as better than any shadow that came before. Because the New Covenant is more than just a new set of promises from God; it is God Himself.

Faith is God’s value system, His currency if you will. The phrase "of whom the world was not worthy" demolishes the human perspective about value and worth. Because the simplest act of faith is more precious in His eyes than all the riches in the world.

Remaining faithful to the Lord doesn’t always yield the positive results and happy endings we want. In response to our loyalty, sometimes Father parts the hedge and allows pain, suffering, and struggle into our lives.

From Asa and Caleb to Hezekiah and the Shunamite woman, the kaleidoscope of faith continues to reveal how each of these saints, through their own unique circumstances, chose to remain fiercely loyal to Yahweh.

Though unnamed, the saints in Hebrews 11:33-28 reveal the many ways their faith was exhibited. Unwaveringly loyal to the Lord, they showed how faith is the only ‘currency’ He values.

Part 2 of this series shows us the other side of the coin, when the faith of Elijah, Hosea, and Jeremiah led them down paths of suffering and loss – things we’d rather not experience.