In (Hebrews 12:1) we read the following: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Clearly these witnesses refer to the great heroes of the faith just mentioned in (Hebrews 11). While we know from (Hebrews 12:2) that we are to fix our eyes on Jesus and imitate Him, we also can greatly benefits from imitating the faith and following in the footsteps of godly men and women. (Hebrews 13:7) tells us just that for we read: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” We also are told to follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul in (1 Corinthians 11:1): “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
Having flesh and blood examples of believers who walked in strong faith can be an enormous encouragement to our own faith walk. In fact, I have found that the most encouraging books, outside of the Bible, are biographies of great Christians of the past. These books have inspired me to want to imitate and learn from these past real life heroes of the faith. Reading about biblical heroes of the faith like Moses, Abraham, and Daniel as well as more modern day great men of faith like George Müller, David Livingstone, and Charles Spurgeon make me realize that Christ is willing to help real people do extraordinary things for the kingdom.
I challenge you to pick up a biography of a great Christian of the past and watch how it will excite, as well as stretch your faith. We all need a fresh dose of encouragement every day – so stay close to Jesus, read your Bible daily, and spend a little time learning from past great men and women of the faith!