The Lord sent this word to a people who were excited about Jesus for quite sometime, but now after a series of trials they had become a very discouraged and downtrodden people. Hope deferred can make the heart weak, and that’s exactly where many of these believers were. So this word had come to them (Hebrew 6: 10-15):
“For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.’ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”
We all definitely have a tendency to become sluggish when promises are not fulfilled (yet), when hope is deferred, and when we are battered with trials and temptations.
And so, we are encouraged to look up to God, draw strength from Him, and to keep putting one foot in front of the other- imitating those who have done the same in the face of much adversity. And above all- not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as was the manner of some of them.
And I love this statement about our spiritual father, Abraham: “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Cmon now! The promise came after he had “patiently endured.”
God’s producing a patient endurance within us, along with a satisfaction of simply being in a wonderful relationship with Him and with each other. We are learning to encourage and pray for one another. We are growing in Christ as a community of believers, while becoming seasoned disciples of the Lord Jesus.
The promise of strength in time of need is never decreased.
“O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!”
Psalm 68: 35
Because of this, we can be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in Him is making an important difference in our lives and in the lives of others.