Confidence to endure

Planning a road trip can be an exciting thing, with many new places to see and visit. An essential item for such a trip is a clear route with some accurate maps to help you on your way. Of course, when we embark on a long journey, we are filled with expectation because we want to reach our destination. But as the journey continues and we reach the half way mark, we begin to ask the familiar questions like: Are we there yet? How much further to go?

Our spiritual life is like a journey to a destination set by the Lord Himself. The Scripture tells us the story of God’s people who were called to leave Egypt to go on a journey to a promised land which God had set aside for them. This was more than just a change in geography for the Israelites. It was also a spiritual journey, where the Lord sought to restore to them what they had lost through their years of captivity in Egypt. We know from the exodus account, that Moses was a guide to God’s people as they negotiated their way out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. Unfortunately the Israelites would not listen to the directions that Moses gave them and they lost their way both in a spiritual and a natural sense. They wandered for many years in the wilderness as God waited for them to turn their hearts back to Him.

Just like the Israelites, we are on a pilgrimage; as Christians we are looking for ‘a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God’. Heb 11:10. Our journey through life is one of preparation so we will be able to inherit Gods promises and be part of that heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. Rev 3:12. As with any journey, the hardest times are often encountered after we have travelled for some time, but still have a considerable distance to go. We can sometimes lose heart and might wonder if we will ever get there? In Hebrews, we find an encouragement not to lose confidence, but to show endurance in order to receive the promises of God. ‘Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.’ Heb 10:35,36.

Paul encouraged us to continue and not turn back when our path gets difficult. In his letter to the Galatians, he wrote, ‘But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?’ Gal 4:9. It is worth noting that this verse explains that we will become enslaved again if we turn back to our former ways. This was true for the Israelites who did not want to endure the difficult part of the journey to the Promised Lan,d but would have preferred to return to captivity in Egypt and ‘be enslaved’ again. We can be confident that God is able to strengthen us for the journey that He has called us to take and we can be sure that He is leading us because the Holy Spirit is our guide. Eph 1:13.

Cameron Playsted

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Feature Articles
October 2009

Grace to you

The trumpet of God

Ascending praise

The path of the just

A church community

No longer your own

Where is wisdom?
- Part 1

Asking and receiving

Our greatest support

Confidence to endure