I want to encourage any of us who may need encouragement today.
Maybe you had some hopes and plans for 2020 and due to all that has taken place so far, those plans have become distant thoughts and you’re deeply discouraged.
Maybe you’ve been believing for God to come through in some way and it’s been a long time and you haven’t seen the breakthrough yet. And you feeling disappointed and hurt.
OR maybe all the news, conflict and chaos has gotten to you. And you’ve been feeling all the affects of anxiousness or uncertainness.
Whatever it is, I believe God really wants to encourage you today with some verses as a reminder to keep PERSEVERING in faith.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23
This verse refers to holding on and persevering in our hope in Christ – without wavering. For He who promised is FAITHFUL.
God’s promises are YES & AMEN for those who will push past:
- DISCOURAGEMENT
- DISSAPOINTMENT
- HOPELESSNESS
- ANXIOUSNESS
REMEMBER what James 1:6 tells us about wavering and being double-minded?
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
As we go through trials – such as the trial of waiting on God to come through – there’s the TEMPTATION to waver in our faith and hope in Christ.
BUT God is FAITHFUL to provide an escape from all temptation. (1 Cor. 10:13).
Having this CONFIDENCE, we can persevere and endure– knowing that God can be trusted to keep His promises.
Hebrews 10:32-39
“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.“
The writer is writing to the Hebrews because when they had first believed they suffered many things for their faith and many had reached a point where they TEMPTED to run from away from the persecutions they were facing by renouncing their faith.
And this letter was written to these Hebrews to encourage them to press forward and to remind them of the eternal great reward that awaits them – if only they would persevere and endure.
He then tells them that patient endurance or PERSEVERANCE is what they need in order to continue doing the will of God. IN ORDER TO RECEIVE WHAT WAS PROMISED!
What is the will of God? It is to TRUST God fully.
You may not be experiencing persecution because of your faith the same way the Hebrews were when the verses were written.
But I do want to acknowledge that we do have an enemy that does actively try to persecute us for our faith and hope in Jesus.
His goal is to tempt you to give in and give up – so that you won’t experience the fullness of what God has for you!
Heb. 10:38 – My righteous ones shall live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.
Faith is what pleases God.
“ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.“(Hebrews 11:6)
Friends – we are NOT of those who shrink back to hopelessness, doubt, depression, anxiety, disappointment, or discouragement!
Remember, Heb. 10:39 – “But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”
The temptations will always be there – but remember we have CONFESSED our HOPE in Christ!
So let us hold tightly to that hope without wavering – KNOWING that we can be CONFIDENT that God is TRUSTWORTHY and FAITHFUL to keep His promise!