Scripture:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:8–16
Devotional Thought:
Abraham never received the fullness of what was promised. He died still living in tents, still a foreigner in the land God had shown him. And Hebrews tells us this without apology — because it was never just about real estate. Abraham was looking for a city whose architect and builder is God.
He and Sarah and Isaac and Jacob all died in faith, having seen the promises from a distance and welcomed them. They lived as strangers and foreigners — not because they had failed, but because they understood something: this world is not the final destination. They were longing for something better. A heavenly country. The city God is building.
That posture — living as a stranger, longing for what’s ahead, holding this world loosely — is the posture the kingdom calls all of us into. We are not home yet. The restoration that began with the promise to Abraham, that arrived in Christ, will be completed when he returns. Until then, we live in tents, just like Abraham. We see the promises from a distance. We welcome them. And we keep walking.
God is not ashamed to be called the God of people who die still waiting, still trusting, still living by faith. He has prepared a city for them. He has prepared it for you.
Reflection Questions:
1. In what ways do you find yourself trying to settle permanently in a world that is not your final home? What would it look like to hold it more loosely?
2. How does the example of Abraham and Sarah — dying in faith without receiving the full promise — encourage you in seasons where God’s promises feel distant?
Application:
Write Hebrews 11:16 somewhere visible this week: They were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God. Let it reorient your perspective on whatever feels unsettled or unresolved in your life right now.