Four Encouragements to Keep Going
When circumstances become overwhelming, we can focus on four encouraging realities: our reward, God’s promise, our blessed hope, and God’s pleasure.
What’s our natural reaction to experiencing difficulties all around, and the pressure just not letting up? Resignation. We look for relief, a way out. We try to escape somehow. This was the precise situation of the original audience of the Letter to the Hebrews. The pressure and trials the Hebrews were enduring, due to their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, weren’t letting up. And so, the writer of Hebrews gave these believers four encouragements to persevere, writing:
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, ‘Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb 10:35-39).
Various versions of the Bible translate the first word of this paragraph as “So” or “Then,” referring the reader to the verses that precede it (vv. 32-34). In those verses, the author encourages the Hebrews to look to their past, reminding them of what has already happened. They endured a great deal of struggle, suffering, insults, distress, and their possessions were even plundered for the sake of Jesus. The writer builds on this by looking ahead, pointing out future events.
The First Encouragement: The Reward
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward” (Heb 10:35).
The Greek word translated as “confidence” can also be used to convey outspokenness or assurance. Should all of this now be given up or discarded? You can practically hear the writer calling out, “Guys, hold on! Hang in there! What’s different now, compared to back then? When you became believers you were so full of courage and deeds of faith. Why would you abandon it now? Think of your reward!”
The text even speaks of great reward. In the original Greek, the root of this word (great, or big) is mega. You’ve got a mega-reward waiting for you! The Bible testifies numerous times that we will one day be rewarded. Paul explains, “Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Cor 3:8, CSB). And Jesus promised that whoever gave up anything for His name will receive it back a hundredfold and inherit eternal life (Matt 19:29).
That doesn’t just mean eternal life and inseparable fellowship with the Lord forever, free from suffering, pain, and illness in that indescribably wonderful place. It also means a hundredfold replacement for what has been given up, sacrificed, and lost. It’s worthwhile to persevere, because anything we may lose is disproportionate to what we’ll gain.
What this reward will actually look like hasn’t been concretely answered. But we can assume that a hundredfold reward from the One who created heaven and earth from His words alone, will be truly mega-good. God even goes so far as to assume we’re expecting rewards. Isn’t that a crazy thought? But it’s a biblical one: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11:6).
A person who has been born again can never perish, but his reward can: “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:14-15).
And finally, there is a negative reward for those who don’t believe at all: judgment. This “reward” is also described clearly in many places in the Bible, including Romans 6:23a: “For the wages of sin is death.”
The Second Encouragement: The Promise
“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (Heb 10:36).
This verse isn’t referring to a reward for our efforts or sacrifices, but to fulfillment of the divine promise we received, the moment of our conversion and rebirth in Jesus. We have been given an unconditional inheritance (cf. Eph 1:11). Or, as Paul says in Romans 8:17a, “and if [we are] children, then [we are] heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”
If a mere earthly inheritance brings great joy, how much more will our unimaginable heavenly inheritance! This perspective should encourage perseverance in God’s children, who are facing repeated trials and tribulations. A much better age is coming!
The Greek word translated here as “endurance” is hupomonē. It’s a compound word of hupo (“underneath”) and monē (“to remain”). It literally means an attitude of staying beneath something, a steadfast endurance and patience in difficult circumstances.
Every Christian suffers tribulation. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). Paul said that we must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations (Acts 14:22). And Peter said that we shouldn’t be surprised by the fiery trial that has come upon us (1 Pet 4:12). Distress and affliction are ever-present. And not just difficult circumstances, but even difficult people. As a Christian, you’re facing pressure at work and school, in your community, perhaps even within your own family and marriage. In these situations, you no longer need faith; you need steadfast endurance. You need patience. And we only learn patience through hardship (cf. Rom 5:3).
God’s will has many facets. In the situation of the Hebrews, it’s primarily about surrendering to Jesus, remaining in Jesus, not deviating or going back, and submitting to these difficult paths. Peter testifies, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Pet 3:17). Ultimately, our faith is demonstrated through our unshakable adherence to His Word, and His faithfulness to us in our need. The promise of the future inheritance is an encouragement for us to persevere.
Maybe someone hasn’t received help, making their situation more like a state of emergency. They must be wondering how much longer they’ll have to hold on. The writer of Hebrews gives a wonderful answer to this unspoken question.
The Third Encouragement: Hope
“Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay” (Heb 10:37). This verse is a variation of Habakkuk 2:3.
Matthew 11:2-3 refers to Jesus Christ as “the one who is to come.” Jesus is coming again! He is the author and perfector. He has the first and last word. And when He returns, all distress and affliction will come to an end. The hope of His return is our ultimate encouragement to persevere. The Bible is suffused with the theme of Christ’s return; it is mentioned over 300 times in the New Testament alone. This means that every 13th verse deals with this immense theme.
When is Jesus coming again? It will take just a very, very little while, meaning it could come at any time. The New Testament focuses on imminent expectation. It could happen today, so we should be ready today. To us, it may seem like it’s taking a long time. But for our eternal God, the time is short, quick, and soon.
At the time Hebrews was being written, judgment was imminent: The Romans would shortly destroy Jerusalem. This eliminated the Jewish oppressors of the early Church. And in the future Great Tribulation, this verse will also be a great hope for the believing Jewish remnant to seize. Through Jesus’ return in great power and glory, every adversary will be destroyed, together with the Antichrist.
The Fourth Encouragement: Pleasure
“But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him” (Heb 10:38). This is a further quote from Habakkuk (2:4).
Faith in the Lord Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice on the Cross is what saves me. This faith makes me righteous before God, because someone else has assumed my guilt. This faith enables me to live forever.
Do you want God’s pleasure? Abide in Him, hold fast to His Word, and you will enjoy His pleasure despite every tribulation. Isn't that a heartfelt encouragement? By contrast, those who don’t believe may see themselves as the hero of their own story. But in reality, they are cowards. Judgment will hit them with full force, and God will turn away from them. God takes no pleasure in them. This is quite the dire warning.
The unbeliever may have knowledge of the Gospel and be committed to it. He may even experience some degree of suffering for the Gospel. But in the end, when it really matters, he’ll throw in the towel.
Finally, our author addresses the believing Hebrew Christians, summarizing his assessment with these words: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb 10:39). He’s saying, “You and I who are born again are determined not to back down to the very end, come what may. We persist!”
Suffering will one day cease, and salvation will never cease. So, keep going! Whatever situation you find yourself in, don’t throw away your confidence. Remain firm in steadfast endurance. Look forward to the One who is to come and seek His pleasure, because God is never too late!
Midnight Call - 02/2025