It is by faith that God’s people mentioned in this chapter endured the problems, so it is important to know what that faith is which kept them going. In that sense this is not a definition of the content of faith. The content of faith is what Jesus has done for us. He makes us righteous before God (see Habakkuk 2:4 and Romans 1:17). So the content of faith is the promises of God. Of course, Hebrews 10:36–39 (preceding this verse) is about this content of faith, but the emphasis here is on what the effect is of that faith in your life: it gives endurance.