Perseverance Results In Reward

Perseverance Results In Reward

You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail. When all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew you had better things waiting for you in eternity. Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! –Hebrews 10:34-35

Near the top of the list of hard things I’ve had to do was telling Matt that I was pregnant but that this child would also die. It broke our hearts to tell him that he would have the brother he’d hoped for, but for only a short time. David told him, “You remember what it was like with Hope. It was hard, but it was also rich. It will be hard again, but it will be good again.” In a sense, this is what the writer of Hebrews was saying to prepare believers to persevere in the hardships ahead as he reminded them of their suffering and perseverance in the past. “Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering” (verse 32). He reminded them of public ridicule and beatings they endured because of their faith, of having everything they owned taken from them. All of it, he reminded them, “you accepted it with joy.”

Hello? Accepted it with joy? How could they accept such significant suffering and persecution with joy? How could they stand with others at great cost and risk to themselves and to their families? Their secret to letting go of things here was that they knew they had “better and lasting” possessions somewhere else. They were confident their perseverance would be rewarded. They knew that what they let go of here would be returned to them with interest later. No skimping. No disappointment. They would receive what God promised, and it would be more than they could ever have dreamed. The reward God promised them—and the reward God promises you for your patient perseverance in suffering and persecution—is really coming. It is not pie-in-the-sky hopes. It is a reality not yet realized.

What have you given up out of love for Christ? Have you traded leisure or acceptance or comfort for working for Christ? Have you been rejected for your stand for the gospel? Have you been treated with disrespect because of your choice to be obedient to God? It will be worth it! Jesus will be worth everything that your commitment to him has cost you and will cost you as you continue to persevere.

My Reward Keeper, I choose to remember your faithfulness to me in the suffering in my past. And I choose to believe in your promise of eternal reward for those who are faithful in suffering. Jesus, I believe you are worth everything my love for you costs me in this life.

DIGGING DEEPER