Look Back To Look Forward
Hold Fast to the Confession of Hope
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. (Hebrews 10:35-39)
Generation on fire, I greet you in the name of Christ, the great defender of our faith.
Have you ever considered the unique thread that binds the Bible, or the central theme reflected in the scriptures? You will likely find the answer is doubt and uncertainty. God knowing our human default to unbelief and propensity to harbor swaying faith, gave us His word and works. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16). The reproof, correction, and instruction here are all exercises in managing and strengthening our faith. Remember, we are justified by faith and adopted by grace. As such, the most significant impediment to running the race before us is the level and strength of our faith. It is why the Bible is packed full of stories and reflections of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, disciples, and others who showed extraordinary faith in the face of doubt and daunting circumstances. As we know it, the Bible is an eloquent case study on the exercise of faith.
In this scripture, the writer of Hebrews encourages the church of converted believers to hold fast to their faith. The young church was having doubts and mounting pressure to return to the law. Most of us today can relate to this as the forces of nature trumpet in our ears: “return to the old and comfortable.” Today, it is not as much a choice of worship or religion as it is to hold on to our faith or abandon it altogether. Somedays, you may ask God if he is listening or cares; other days, you pray and remain void of answers or breakthroughs. Perhaps you have given up reckless living and constrained yourself by godly discipline, but walking the narrow path now feels too high a price to pay for the smallest of confirmations. God tells you to hold fast, but more importantly, He shows you how to. For starters, by giving us the most powerful defense of faith, the Bible, God shows us that He foreknows us and has planned for this very issue. By narrating the story of a sick child and his father who cried to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Matthew 9:24), He acknowledges that doubt amid faith is possible and sometimes expected. However, God is calling us to grow into a faith that transcends doubt, not fears that strangle faith.
Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." The reason why we do not throw away our confidence is because the person in whom our confidence lies is faithful. So many have been hurt in pursuing and developing a stronger faith because things have not worked out as envisioned or the feelings of intimacy with God as conjured by our human mind have failed to materialize. This occurrence is typically the result of a misrepresented finish line or forgetting about the race we are running altogether. The road to stronger faith is perseverance, and at the end of perseverance is God’s promise. Although God provides for his children and meets them at their point of need, the promise in question is not material or earthen; it is eternity. In praying for the situations before us and confronting our sources of doubt, we must be careful not to make these things the prize in and of themselves, for there is a more fantastic and perfect prize. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” At the end of perseverance is abundance and that only happens when we are reunited with the one who has gone to prepare a place for us in the father’s mansion.
Hebrews 10:32 admonishes us to remember the early days after we had received the light; the endurance with which we overcame those trials and tribulations must be the same as we approach present problems. The writer is telling us to look back so that we can look forward; we have not come this far just to come this far, we must go full length. Thankfully, we do not run alone, and God, through the body of Christ, provides sustenance for this race. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24) reminds us to lean on our community to advance faith and overcome doubt. The day approaching again refers to the prize of eternity with the father. Michael Krugger perfectly summarizes faith by writing, “faith is one of those things you can’t do alone. Many people try to, but we need each other. We need to stir up one another to love and good works. We need someone to stoke the fire in us and keep us on the right track, to help us get up when we don’t want to and shake us occasionally and tell us to get it together.” Anecdotally, in my life, the most potent iteration of my faith has been in community with fellow believers and nothing comes close.
Brethren, we must never allow our eyes to wander from that glorious prize. We must run this race with the vigor of when we first came to Christ. In times of doubt, we must reflect on how far we have come and commit to crossing the finish line. “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” (James 1:7-8). As believers, we expect eternal rest with Christ, and our faith propels us towards it with perseverance and endurance.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Help us to throw off every weight and every sin that so easily entangles us and give us the strength to run with endurance the race You have set before us. Allow us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. May His example of joy in the midst of suffering inspire us to endure, knowing that He, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross and its shame, and now sits at Your right hand in victory. Strengthen us in Your grace, and let us continue to press forward, always looking to Jesus for encouragement and guidance.
In His precious name, we pray. Amen.