“Let us hold onto the confession of our hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
– Hebrews 10:23-25
In June of 2018, I was hospitalized with a brain infection for two weeks. While that was obviously a difficult situation to endure for myself, it was much more taxing on my wife. She, along with the doctors, had no idea if I would recover, and my symptoms made the situation all the worse to bear. She was terrified.
As we approach situations in our life that bring great fear, uncertainty, or anxiety, we ought to take seriously the commands given to us by the author of Hebrews: to hold onto, consider, gather, and encourage.
We ought to hold onto the confession of our hope without wavering. In other words, we should continue to trust in Jesus, in His saving work on the cross, in the promise that He will be with us always, to the end of the age! Why should we do this? Because the One who promised is faithful! God’s faithfulness can give us hope in the midst of hopelessness.
As we approach situations in our life that bring great fear, uncertainty, or anxiety, we ought to take seriously the commands given to us by the author of Hebrews: to hold onto, consider, gather, and encourage.
We ought to hold onto the confession of our hope without wavering. In other words, we should continue to trust in Jesus, in His saving work on the cross, in the promise that He will be with us always, to the end of the age! Why should we do this? Because the One who promised is faithful! God’s faithfulness can give us hope in the midst of hopelessness.
God desires for us to be connected in a community so that we can support others who are facing great uncertainty.
Next, we must “consider others," or as Paul more clearly instructs in Philippians 2:4, "consider others as more important than yourselves." Following Jesus means following His way of living, and there may not be a more important way in which He lived than that of laying His life down for others. Jesus lived a life that denied the self and fought for the best interests of others. As we commit to following Jesus’ manner of living in this way, we will provoke each other into love and good works.
Lastly, we must gather together and encourage one another. God created us, in His image, to exist in community with one another. It is vital that we do not isolate ourselves from the body of Christ, because, in doing so, we isolate ourselves from the support of others that we will certainly need when we become afraid. Not only that, but God also desires for us to be connected in a community so that we can support those who are facing great uncertainty.
While I was hospitalized, our home group from church stepped up to support us in so many ways. They helped unpack the townhome we just moved into the week prior. They were there for Delaney as a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. They embodied what the writer of Hebrews described, and had they not been there for us, I’m not sure Delaney and I would have been able to make it through.
This week, take a step further up and further into the community for which you were created. This will look different for everyone. Perhaps, it may be joining together with others for Sunday worship. Maybe it could be asking some neighbors to get together and talk about the Bible and life. Or you could reach out to a friend and open up about the things you're struggling with. Whatever that looks like for you this week, don’t neglect the incredible gift that is the body of Christ that God has given you and allowed you to be a part of!
Lastly, we must gather together and encourage one another. God created us, in His image, to exist in community with one another. It is vital that we do not isolate ourselves from the body of Christ, because, in doing so, we isolate ourselves from the support of others that we will certainly need when we become afraid. Not only that, but God also desires for us to be connected in a community so that we can support those who are facing great uncertainty.
While I was hospitalized, our home group from church stepped up to support us in so many ways. They helped unpack the townhome we just moved into the week prior. They were there for Delaney as a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. They embodied what the writer of Hebrews described, and had they not been there for us, I’m not sure Delaney and I would have been able to make it through.
This week, take a step further up and further into the community for which you were created. This will look different for everyone. Perhaps, it may be joining together with others for Sunday worship. Maybe it could be asking some neighbors to get together and talk about the Bible and life. Or you could reach out to a friend and open up about the things you're struggling with. Whatever that looks like for you this week, don’t neglect the incredible gift that is the body of Christ that God has given you and allowed you to be a part of!
Posted in Devotional
Tagged with created for community, fear less, people of god, community, tim haring, andrew archer
Tagged with created for community, fear less, people of god, community, tim haring, andrew archer
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