So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him.* But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life. Hebrews 10:35-39, *Habakkuk 2:3-4
My words…
Praise
When I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, I didn’t worry that it would crumble beneath my feet and I would plunge into San Francisco Bay. I had confidence in the bridge builders. I have built some “bridges” in my life that I didn’t feel as confident crossing. Like the Raising Children Bridge. I’ve crossed it without plunging into an abyss, but not because I had confidence in my abilities. In fact, that bridge rippled in the wind a couple times, and I barely hung on. I lost my footing on My Faith Bridge more than once (to say the least). I came upon some fog and stopped moving for a while. The fog cleared, and my journey continued. I’ve come to the end of some bridges and some I have yet to cross. But this I have learned from You: I needn’t have confidence in the bridge if I have confidence in the One leading me across.
Prayer for me
There are many areas of my life wherein I lack confidence. If a recipe begins with the words “dissolve yeast,” I toss the recipe and buy dinner rolls. Not an issue. But when I am confronted with someone who is grieving or despairing, I lack the confidence to know how to comfort them, to know what to say. In those times, will You help me? Instead of having confidence in myself, I ask you to lead me in placing my confidence in Your Spirit.
Prayer for others
There is a family who is grieving the murder of their three-year-old daughter. Her body was found in a dumpster. Indescribable grief. I have confidence that You will comfort them when I ask. Wrap them in Your arms and bring them peace. I also have confidence in Your wisdom to bring judgment on those who are responsible for such grief. Woe to those who cause Your children harm and remain remorseless and unrepentant.
Thank You
Thank You for the seasons of earth and the seasons of life. Nothing remains static. Everything changes. The leaves are radiant yet they are dying. I thank You for the autumn of my life.
More praise
You are the One in whom I place my confidence, and I would never throw it away. I hold it in front of me as a shield. I will not draw back. I will not be destroyed.
