Wherever the Lord sees faith, He is pleased. Even though many 'heroes of faith' never saw the results of their obedience, God saw and promised to reward all those who trust Him (Hebrews 11:6). The faithful people of the Old Testament did not yet have the full revelation of Jesus, or the narrative accounts of the apostles and early church – yet they trusted God's Word to the point of being willing to be persecuted.

Although there are many blessings in this life, and many struggles too, God's justice and grace does not end with death. The fulfilment and validation of our faith will never be complete in this temporary life. Only when Jesus returns will all of God’s purposes be fulfilled, all justice will be administered and all rewards dispensed. The Old Testament men and women of faith were willing to await that Day (John 8:56). Those who expect immediate rewards for their piety are selfishly proud and spiritually short-sighted: as Jesus said, there is no eternal reward left for them (Matthew 6:1, 5, 16). And yet those who look for a permanent home with God through Jesus Christ will find it (John 14:1-6; Hebrews 11:10).

We now know what Moses and David could not clearly understand, that the fulfilment of all God's purposes is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). That includes the completion of the church as the gospel is proclaimed throughout the world (Matthew 24:14), and the final conquering of all His enemies (1 Corinthians 15:24). Only after that will those who exercised faith, and been commended for it, see the full reality of what they had been working towards with God.

Better than healing and victory in battle, is Christ. Better than struggle and persecution, is Christ. Better than ministry and service, is Christ. He is the One to whom we look (Hebrews 12:1-3) because He is the only One who can complete the jigsaw of our faith. That means that until we see Him, everything will be incomplete in some way. If we look to immediate rewards we will be disappointed and will frustrate His eternal plans for us. So we should not be fully satisfied by good things nor upset or confused about bad things: they are not the goal of faith – Jesus is. It can be hard to wait, and to be content when we do not see our faith result in triumph today. But that is why we have an eternal horizon. So 'do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded' (Hebrews 10:35). That is why this letter was written to the original readers, and why it has been preserved for us. We need to hold fast to Jesus Christ, despite the troubles, so that when He appears we will be confident and unashamed (1 John 2:28).