He is Faithful!

He is Faithful!

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) Hebrews 10:23 KJV

There are about four pillars on which today's extract is based, and these are as follows:

1. Hold Fast: If I am charged to hold fast to something, it means that at some point in the past, I must have held on to the wrong thing or I wasn't holding on to anything of much value. At every point in time in my life, there are pursuits and priorities that define what is important to me. Can I truly say that what I am pursuing now brings glory to God? God will not charge me to hold fast to anything if there was no danger in letting go. In the letter to the church at Philadelphia, Jesus said:...hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Revelation 3:11 KJV. 

2. The Profession of our faith: I need to know what is that right thing I am to hold fast to. The devil is smart; he makes the world's goods attractive to us, and he wants to keep me engaged on activities, at the expense of a relationship with God. Faith in God is the basis of all that is valuable and eternal, and without it, no man can please the Lord. At all times, there is something of importance to me, and it would either be something of eternal value or earthly importance. You can't play both sides at the same time. 

3. Without wavering: the big lesson in all of these is that only those who endure to the end will be saved. It is not about your start alone or the journey but about the end. There are people like the thief on the cross, who didn't have anything of spiritual value to offer until the point of death, where he had a life encounter with Jesus. Compare him with Judas Iscariot who walked with Jesus for three and a half years. The start and the journey are important, but much more important is how I end. God's rewards are not tied to the start or the journey; it is tied to a good end. It is not tied to mere activities, but to the fulfilment of His own purposes. There will be shaking; the wind will blow and the storms will rise, but only those who hold on to the end get the reward for steadfast faith.

4. He is Faithful that promised: I consider it impossible for any man to endure what this life offers if there was no hope of a better and brighter tomorrow. It is that hope that keeps me sane when everything around me is falling to pieces. It is my personal encounter of God that keeps hope alive. If I do not have that personal experience, how would I know how to hold on? If I do not take time out to study the Word of God to know what He says, how would I know the promises He has made about my present experiences and my expectations for the future? 

Do I know this God? Have I met this God? Is what I am holding on to now of any spiritual value? Is the right foundation in place for me to aspire to eternal impact? These questions are so important and so personal that there cannot be joint answers. Each of us would have to work out what God desires for us and pursue it with a focused heart. His time of favour is here.