“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.” (Heb 10:35 ESV)
The original readers of the letter to the Hebrews were Jewish Christians, who were experiencing intense persecution. In this intense persecution, many who had previously professed faith in Christ, turned back to Judaism, and renounced their faith. Hebrews was written to those who had not turned back, but were in danger of doing so. They were in danger of throwing away their confidence in Christ.
I realize the my readers are not persecuted Jewish Christians. But in every age, there are factors that tempt the Christian to throw away his confidence. I believe that one of the greatest temptations that we have is to the temptation to lose hope and lose our confidence. We are tempted to lose our confidence that God is actually leading us. We are tempted to lose our confidence that God is going to take care of us and meet our needs.
Yesterday, our pastor, preaching from Nehemiah, talked about the intimidation of Nehemiah's enemies. They wanted to make him afraid. They wanted to cause him to lose his confidence. Nehemiah had the discernment to realize what was going on, and praying to God, determined to stay the course, and complete that task that God called him to do.
One of the prophetic words that was given, reminded us of the importance of "fueling" our faith with the promises of God. How vitally important that is to helping us to keep from throwing away our confidence.
Why is it that the enemy is bent upon trying to rob us of our confidence? Because our confidence has great reward! Through faith (another word for confidence) we have been justified. Through faith, we accomplish the goals that God lays out for us. Through faith, we chose to "suffer with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." The rewards are to great to lose!
Dear reader, do not throw away your confidence today. Press on. Trust God. Keep your eye on the reward!
1 comment:
Well I have been catching up on your posts and each one has spoken to me and convicted me!! It has reminded me of what God has really done for me the past month! And has caused me to think about where i am at right now in my faith in God. This has put the fire under me to draw closer to God and remembering His awesome workings in my life recently! Thank you again! I love you!!
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