Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Heb. 11:1)
Expanded Passage: Hebrews 11:1
To celebrate graduating high school, I put more faith in someone than I ever had before: I decided to go tandem skydiving. I had never gone skydiving. I got a total of maybe thirty minutes instruction about how to put on the suit and how to act in the air. Basically, I was supposed to relax, not freak out, be still, and let the skydiving professional strapped to my back do all the work. When it came time to land, I would have to help run so that we could land smoothly.
The author of Hebrews gives us a definition of faith: confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. I could not see the professional strapped to my back. I could get a little glimpse of him when I looked over my shoulder and saw his hands if he was showing me the altimeter. Mainly, I just listened to his voice and had faith in his record of keeping all his previous tandems safe.
We may not be able to visibly see God. Sometimes we get a glimpse, but mainly we listen to his voice. We trust him because of his faithfulness to us and to all those who came before us. Keep an eye out for the brief glimpses of God’s presence, and keep faith that you are in good hands.
Have faith that when God says jump, he is there behind you.
Aaron Wilkinson is an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church and Chair of the Department of Business and Economics at Huntington University.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
