We Set Our Eyes on He Who is Faithful

Today I was reading Hebrews 10 and 11 in my devotions, and I was struck by the concept of faith.
Hebrews chapter 11 talks about the people in the Old Testament who had faith in God. All of it is summed up in the words, that are spoken directly of Abraham, "because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise" (vs.11). In this I find the reason behind the life of someone who is marked by the words, "By faith."
Hebrews 11:13-16 says, "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. And they admitted that they were aliens 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 would have 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."
This shows a faith that I have not noticed before. We live in a world that expects everything now. We can have faith that God will do something in our lives, but it has to be instant. And faith falters when it's not an instantaneous answer. This is not how God's people are to live. We are called to have lifelong faith-regardless of whether we see it or not, if circumstances show the fruit of our faith or not. And we are called to this simply because "He who promised is faithful." It's a conviction of the faithfulness and nature of God, rather than a response to what we see and have. We need to have an eternal perspective-that the ultimate promise God has made to us is life in Heaven, with Him, forever. And the promises He has made to us on earth are but a shadow of this promise to come. When our perspective shifts to that, we can be satisfied in not seeing these promises come to pass in our lifetime.
May we be people of whom God is not ashamed, because we don't trust and have faith in Him based on what we see, but on His nature and on what is to come. We look to the eternal fulfillment of our faith. We live our lives by this statement, "I am convinced that He who has promised is faithful." Praise God for His faithfulness...and for that being my hope and my reason for having faith!