Staying Faithful When It Would Be Easier to Give Up - Your Nightly Scripture - October 9th
Your Nightly Scripture
Audio By Carbonatix
By Sophia Bricker, Crosswalk.com
Staying Faithful When It Would Be Easier to Give Up
Evening Scripture
Hebrews, Chapter 3
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
“Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.
So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Evening Reflection
If anyone had a reason to give up, it was Athanasius. He had been exiled multiple times and slandered by many. Others urged him to give into the theology of the Arians, but he refused. The matter in question – the divinity of Christ – was too important for him to cave to, even though it would have been easier for him to do so. Standing firm on the truth of Scripture, Athanasius continued in a faithful defense of Jesus’ identity as God despite intense struggle and persecution. He advocated for the truth presented at the council of Nicaea, expressed in The Nicene Creed: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.”
The things most worth doing are often the most difficult.
In the Bible, that is one of the reasons the Israelites did not enter the Promised Land as instructed – it appeared too challenging. The report of the spies (except Joshua and Caleb) discouraged Israel because they focused only on the size of the enemies and the threat of going to battle against them (Numbers 13:31-33).
So, they took the easier route: they gave up. In doing so, they not only faced forty years of wandering in the wilderness, they also lost their chance of entering the promise of God because of unfaithfulness (Numbers 14:26-35).
Long-term faithfulness may seem like the harder route with the struggles that are sure to come, leaving us discouraged and weary. Yet, giving up and caving into sin is the cowardly option. It offers nothing of value, only a fleeting, selfish relief of not having to endure suffering for the sake of obedience.
Thankfully, we do not have to attempt to tread the path of obedience alone or in our own strength. Jesus, our great High Priest, has gone before us as One fully faithful to the Father. To remain steadfast, Scripture encourages us to “fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest” (Hebrews 3:1). With Him, nothing is impossible, for He gives us the courage to keep going, even when it would be easier to give up.
Evening Prayer
Lord,
Set my eyes on you so that I focus on the goal and purpose of life: to know You and to love You with all my heart, soul, and strength. The more I focus on You, the less I will obsess over the obstacles that stand in the way of obedience.
The temptation is strong, O Savior, to give up, for it would be easy to do so. No one would notice if I did, none but You. Give me the strength to keep going, because I cannot do this alone. Enable me to stand firm in the promises of Your Word, mediating on the faithfulness that You have shown throughout time. Truly, You remain faithful even when I am faithless (2 Timothy 2:13).
In Your name, Jesus, I pray.
Amen.
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Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Sophia Bricker is a writer. Her mission is to help others grow in their relationship with Jesus through thoughtful articles, devotionals, and stories. She completed a BA and MA in Christian ministry, which included extensive study of the Bible and theology, as well as an MFA in creative writing. You can read her thoughts about the intersection of literature and faith at The Cross, a Pen, and a Page Substack, visit her author Facebook page, or browse the discipleship-based site Cultivate, where she writes with her sister.
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