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Who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.

The Bible is full of amazing stories. Stories of the weak overcoming the strong. Stories of people escaping from impossible situations. Stories of battles won and enemies defeated – even death itself. Stories that amaze and excite and inspire.

Those true stories are our stories too. We can relate to the weak and the wounded, the grieving and the hurting, those just trying to navigate through life and make it out alive. And the God in the middle of those stories is in the middle of ours, too.

He made promises to those people long ago, and they held onto those promises. When flames, foes, or even death were overcome for them, it was because God promised they would be. That gave them the strength and stamina to endure.

They didn’t always come out on top in this world. Innocent people were tortured and killed. But they endured it because God promised something more. He promised a Savior, Jesus, who would be tortured and killed, too. He willingly endured it to gain more than this world could ever offer. When Jesus died and rose again, he gained for them and for us rescue from death itself. He won for us a place in the family of God as forgiven saints and heirs of eternal life. He secured for us a home in heaven where no enemy can ever touch us again.

Those people in the Bible are sometimes called heroes of faith, but the real hero was the God and Savior who keeps every promise and gives us the final victory. Read the Bible. See their stories and yours. Hear and believe God’s promises to you. And know that Jesus, your hero, guarantees that your story will have a great ending!

Jesus, thank you for being the hero of my story. Help me to live in view of the better life you have won for me. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.