Confidence

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. Hebrews 10:35,36 NIV

In our youth, we feel that we can take on the world, and nothing will be able to get in our way. But as we get older, we start to realise that our confidence ebbs as we find out that there are some things, no make that many things we just can’t do anymore. It’s a stark truth and reality, and something we can’t change.

This verse gives me some comfort because the rich reward is not limited only to those who have boundless confidence. For me, the key word is not ‘confidence’, but to ‘persevere’ doing the will of God. Then, and only then it becomes certain, that we will receive God’s promise.

However, there is a serious note of caution. I started out to say that our confidence can ebb, and that is true as life affects us, but we are warned ‘do not throw away your confidence’. As with many things in the Christian life, we have choices, and here we have a choice to make too. If our God given free will allows us to throw our confidence away, thus losing the promise, we must also have that same free will to retain our confidence! With the strength given by God, we have the certainty of receiving the promise of God. What could be better than to be in the will of God, and in His favour?

Persevere

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:36 NIV

Have you ever tried to learn a musical instrument? When you were in primary school, did your mum send to piano lessons? If the church had a praise band, did you want a guitar? That way you could join them, after all they sound like they need a new and better player. With a brand new, expensive instrument. Right, now I have a piano, or a guitar, or a flute, or a clarinet…. and the list goes on. Ok so you are ahead of me because you have figured out what’s missing.

Learning. Practicing. Long hours spent when your pals are out in the sunshine, and here you are, stuck in the house trying to bang out “Three Blind Mice” for the twentieth time. It’s not fun anymore. The shine has gone off the desire to play in the Praise Band, or for the choir.

In the same way, if we want to “receive what God has promised” we must stick at practicing our faith. That includes when things are not going our way, and when we have those serious, unanswered questions that we expect from God right NOW! The writer of Hebrews, generally thought to be Paul, makes it very clear that although the gift of salvation is free, we must persevere and see it through to completion. The reward for persevering with your music is great, but look at the reward when we press on in faith for God’s prize. Makes it all worthwhile, doesn’t it?

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-15 NIV