Faith enabled Abraham to become a father, even though he was old and Sarah had never been able to have children. Abraham trusted that God would keep his promise. Abraham was as good as dead. Yet, from this man came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the grains of sand on the seashore.
All these people died having faith. They didn’t receive the things that God had promised them, but they saw these things coming in the distant future and rejoiced. They acknowledged that they were living as strangers with no permanent home on earth.
Instead, these men were longing for a better country—a heavenly country. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:11-13, 16 GW)
We Americans are free to complain about our country and have freedom to bring change. But as believers, we have a better country than any on this earth.
Are you longing for a better life on earth, or a better country beyond this world? As Jesus said, "Wherever your heart is—what it longs for—is where your treasure is."