So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.  Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36

Long ago, one of the New Testament writers laid out a rescue plan for discouragement and weariness.  The writer uses a little phrase three times, each time urging action and that phrase is, “let us.”

The first “let us” is “Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).  This first word of exhortation and encouragement is good news.  Experiencing troubles, pain, or misunderstanding?  Take them straight to God and tell Him how you feel.

The second “let us” is “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23).  In other words, hold on tenaciously to the promises of God.  Don’t let anyone talk you out of them by making you think you aren’t good enough or that God cares about others, but not about you.  Those promises include the assurance that your sins are forgiven, that you have been brought into the family of God, that you are His child, and that nothing or no one can ever separate you from God’s love (Romans 8).

The third “let us,” is “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25). The message is clear: don’t isolate in your misery. The reality is that we need each other for encouragement, for strength and help.

 

Resource reading: Hebrews 10:19-39