Hebrews 10:35-36 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

It has been said many times, but the race we are in isn’t a dash, but a marathon. Even though a human lifespan is hardly a blink in eternity, the flow of time can feel unbearably slow to us in the middle of it. This is all part of God’s training for us, to prepare us to live with Him in eternity. One thing we have in common with the devil is that we have an “expiration date,” whereas God doesn’t. It is part of God’s grace and blessing toward us that He gives us interesting and pleasant things from time to time along the way. Yes, we do have troubles, (John 16:33) but they are never the final answer. The devil wants to overwhelm us with despair, since he himself has no hope of eternity at all, but we are told to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil. (James 4:7) The thing is, the confidence mentioned here isn’t self-confidence, it is the assurance that, as Paul said, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) Our confidence isn’t in ourselves, but in God. That’s why it has such a great reward!

This is a very timely Word to me, because recent events have made me pretty tired of all this hassle. However, giving up is certainly not the answer, because the Lord obviously has things left for me to do, and I know I will be greatly blessed in the doing of them. Today has a delightfully free schedule, but tomorrow has three distinct opportunities to bless people as God’s agent, and I certainly don’t want to miss them. Each day afterward likewise has appointments I know about, and I’m sure, some I don’t know about. I am to receive each day as a gift from God’s hand, as an opportunity to be an instrument of His will and a time to delight in being His child. I preached on that last part just yesterday! It’s been many years now since He told me to rest, relax, and rejoice. It’s a sign of my weakness that I have to be reminded of that! God has been more than gracious in pouring His truth into and through me. I just need to appropriate and apply it!

Father, thank You for this timely reminder. Thank You for Your plan, Your schedule for my life. Help me not rebel against that in any way, but rather allow You to carry me along by Your Spirit, as a blessing and inspiration to those around me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!