“…but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Continuing with the prophet Habakkuk the writer reminds us of how God views His coming. The major subject again is faith. Hebrews is the book on faith. Paul states the verse this way, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). The Hebrews writer is not talking about God’s faithfulness but rather the faith of the saints. Those who come to God must believe in Him, as we will see in the next chapter. Those who are faithful to God are seen as living, but those who do not live by faith are seen as dead.

Jesus also warned about starting out and then shrinking back. We are reminded that there will be no second offering for our sins. We accept grace through faith and live it out, or we will not be among the righteous ones. Living a so-so life does not bring pleasure to God.

Task for Today: Checkup verse! How are you living? Are you charging forward in faith, or are you shrinking back to your former way of life? This verse is pretty plain, isn’t it? We understand what God demands of us as we also understand what God has promised us. Let it guide your actions today.