Friday Reading: Hebrews 10:32-39
Key Verse: Hebrews 10:36
36 For you have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise.
Devotion:
It is certainly no use to say “I am a Christian therefore I will not face afflictions”, nor is it wise to think that you will become prosperous because God will give you money! When we confess our sins to Christ and ask Him into our lives we face a new problem and that is the evil one who will try to do whatever he can to turn us away from God; so we will face afflictions, and then some! Our Christian spirit is not to be selfish and keep God to ourselves but to search for and reach out to others. We take pity on others and want them to find the truth that we have found, even if it means having to face a seemingly uphill struggle... but none of this is of any great substance when we remember just how much we have gained.
Our happiness may not seem much on earth if we sit down and count all that comes against us, but our happiness afterwards is without limit. In mathematical terms our happiness is infinite and any number, no matter how great, is equal to nothing when compared with infinity; that is why we count ourselves as happy in all circumstances! The greatest part of our happiness is not what God can give us here on earth but rather what He has promised us n heaven with Him. We need to have patience so that we can put aside all that we may have to face here on earth so that we can enjoy the eternal promise of Christ our King.
When we finally die on earth we will go to be with Him immediately where He will give us our just reward and cast aside our sin debt because He has already paid it for us. Our conflict may seem hard, fast and rather sharp at times, but it is nothing compared to the rewards we will face in heaven. Our duty is to live by faith here and now knowing that we will die in our faith and that our souls are forever safe. We do not have to die to know that our souls are safe because that is a promise that He gives us as soon as we trust Him for the first time. So when Christ says He is coming soon, that soon can be any length when compared to the eternal which is infinite... Trust in His promises because He cannot lie.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find yourself bogged down?
Are you remembering the infinite joy that faces you?
