What does Hebrews 11:36 mean?

The book of Hebrews is really a letter, written to encourage persecuted Christians. Over the last few verses, the writer has listed dramatic examples of godly faith. This faith really means "trust," and the lives of people such as Abel, Noah, and Sarah exemplified that trust (Hebrews 11:4–12). At the same time, we see examples of faith in God despite hardship in the examples of men like Abraham (Hebrews 11:17–19). Scripture is full of stories about men and women who lived out a true faith in God, and achieved great things as a result (Hebrews 11:32). This included victories up to and including the resurrection of those who were dead (Hebrews 11:33–35)! At the same time, those who achieved success often did so in the face of great personal hardship.

The prior verse began to list the kinds of persecution faced by those who were faithful to God. The purpose of listing these atrocities is a combination of encouragement and conviction. Encouragement comes from knowing that, even when the world is against those who are faithful, God is going to obtain victory in the end. Conviction comes from knowing that these earlier believers experienced truly horrific circumstances, but were able to "hold fast" to their faith (Hebrews 3:6; 10:23; Philippians 4:12–13). This ought to encourage us to maintain a forward-looking, trusting faith, even during hardships.