“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” — Hebrews 11:1-2

Rally the troops. Rally point. Two-out rally. There is something to having a collective group working together to inspire change, growth and maybe a few runs.

When it comes to our faith, it can be motivating to see how others have walked with the Lord. We can learn from their mistakes and their victories. In one concise list in Hebrews 11, we see that “by faith” Old Testament figures — men and women, hundreds of thousands together and handfuls scattered about — followed, obeyed and were catalysts for God, their Creator.

They embraced a promise they did not live to see fulfilled. They had assurance for things hoped for and conviction of things not seen. As they looked forward, we look back to the same promise and the same hope, with the same conviction. If you read through some of their stories, you may find they were not all that extraordinary. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul points out that God chooses the foolish, weak and lowly people to advance His Kingdom (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

Even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive with Christ.

“It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” — 1 Corinthians 1:30

For this we can be thankful. Like those men of old, does your story begin with “by faith…”?

— Steve Sisco, Director of Baseball Chapel

The Increase, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is a community of Christian pro athletes sharing their personal stories of the decrease of self and the increase of Christ (John 3:30). Visit TheIncrease.com for more stories and videos.