Still Living by Faith: What Hebrews 11:13 Teaches Us About Waiting Well
If you’ve ever waited on God for something that feels slow, distant, or impossible, Hebrews 11:13 is a verse that lands right in the center of your heart.
It 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,
admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.”
— Hebrews 11:13 (NIV)
This is one of the most quietly powerful verses in the entire chapter. It’s easy to read past it, but when you sit with it, it reveals something beautiful and deeply comforting about the nature of faith.
Let’s walk through it together — because this verse holds a message every weary heart needs.
1. “All these people were still living by faith when they died.”
This line alone can stop you in your tracks.
The “people” mentioned here are Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob — spiritual giants to us, but very normal, flawed humans in their own time.
Every one of them lived with unfulfilled longings.
Every one of them had unanswered prayers.
Every one of them had promises from God that didn’t fully unfold in their lifetime.
Yet Scripture says:
They were still living by faith when they died.
Not because every promise had materialized…
but because they trusted the Promise-Maker more than the timeline.
This is a faith that doesn’t expire when we don’t get what we hoped for.
A faith that doesn’t collapse under disappointment.
A faith that lasts until our final breath.
That is real faith — faith rooted in who God is, not what we’ve gotten.
2. “They did not receive the things promised.”
This sounds discouraging at first, but it’s not.
It doesn’t mean God didn’t keep His word.
It means they saw the beginning of the promise, not the completion.
Abraham was promised descendants as numerous as the stars — but he died with one promised son.
He was promised land — but he only owned a burial plot.
He was promised a Messiah — but he never lived to see Jesus arrive.
And yet…
Abraham didn’t consider God unfaithful.
Sarah didn’t believe God forgot her.
Jacob didn’t assume God was done with his family.
They believed the Promise-Giver even when they didn’t see the full promise.
This is the kind of faith that makes heaven lean in.
3. “They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.”
This is such tender imagery.
They saw glimpses.
Hints.
Shadows.
Beginnings.
Pieces of the promise taking shape.
They didn’t hold the fulfillment in their hands…
but they held it in their hearts.
They said, “God, I trust what You are doing, even though I can’t fully see it yet.”
Sometimes we look for finished answers when God is giving us foretastes.
We want completed chapters while God gives us first lines.
Faith isn’t just believing in what you receive.
Faith is believing in what you anticipate.
4. “Admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.”
This is the real secret to Hebrews 11 faith.
These heroes understood something we often forget:
This world is not our home.
We’re passing through.
We’re tent-dwellers.
We’re citizens of a different Kingdom.
Abraham lived in the promised land his entire life… yet he stayed in a tent.
Why?
Because he knew the real promise wasn’t a piece of land — it was the presence of God.
People of faith have always looked beyond the temporary.
Their eyes weren’t fixed on what they could build, keep, or accomplish on earth.
Their eyes were fixed on something better.
When you understand that your true home is with God, not in your circumstances, everything shifts.
It becomes easier to wait.
Easier to surrender.
Easier to trust.
Easier to release the need to control.
So what does Hebrews 11:13 teach us today?
More than almost any verse in Scripture, this one reminds us:
✔ Faith isn’t defined by what you see.
✔ Faith is defined by Who you trust.
✔ Faith means you may get glimpses, not completion.
✔ Faith means you keep believing, even in the waiting.
✔ Faith means remembering we’re travelers, not settlers.
✔ Faith lives with God’s promises in view, even from a distance.
And maybe the most comforting truth of all:
You’re not failing at faith just because you haven’t seen the full promise yet.
**You’re not behind.
You’re not forgotten.
You’re not overlooked.**
You’re simply walking the same path as every person who has ever trusted God.
Waiting is not weakness.
Delay is not denial.
Distance is not distance from Him.
Like the saints in Hebrews 11…
you can keep walking.
Keep trusting.
Keep believing.
Even if you only see the promise from afar.
Because the One who made the promise?
He is faithful.
And He will finish what He started.
A Prayer for the Waiting
Father,
Thank You for the promises You’ve spoken over my life.
Even when I only see glimpses, help me trust that You are still working.
Strengthen my faith in the waiting, and remind me that this world is not my home—
You are.
Teach me to walk with steady confidence, believing You are faithful to finish what You started.
I surrender my timeline, my fears, and my need to see the whole picture.
Help me keep my eyes on You, and give me the courage to keep going, even from a distance.
Amen.