Overcoming Perseverance-Fatigue and Trusting in God's Process

Photo by Vlad Bagacian on Unsplash

Hebrews 3: 5-11

5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the boast of our hope. 7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As on the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers put Me to the test, And saw My works for forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; 11 As I swore in My anger, ‘They certainly shall not enter My rest.’

Not much is known about Hebrews. We don’t officially know who the author is. We don’t exactly know to whom the letter is written, although a reasonable assumption based on the content of the letter is that it is written to a community of Jewish Christians who are struggling in the midst of trials, and despite having been Christians for a while, they seem to be having difficulty living into the full power and maturity of the faith. It seems like they have, what I like to call, “perseverance fatigue”—  so much so they are even returning to the old-covenant practices of ritual sacrifice in the temple. 

In the beginning of this passage from Hebrews the writer encourages his listeners to revive their inner conviction for who God says he is, and what God promises his people. The author reminds them of the differences between Moses and Jesus. Jesus is God, and because of his death, resurrection and ascension– we now get to be the dwelling place for his presence! No ritual sacrifice needed to be unified with God. Under the new covenant he is with us always. The passage takes a turn after such hopeful encouragement when the author warns the listener (this letter would have been read out-loud) of what the consequences of not being led by God could be. The writer of Hebrews recalls the rebellion of the Israelites in the wilderness with Moses when they put God’s faithfulness to the test. It was this lack of trust in God’s plan, and leading that kept the Israelites from entering the promised land for 40 years! Even more significant, and the point the writer of Hebrews is making to the hearers of the letter— it is in the act of trusting God’s plan and goodness that we will find our rest when we are suffering from perserverance-fatigue.

It is also interesting to note that the “rebellion” of which the author warns them against is not what we may immediately identify as “sinful” or “rebellious.” He warns them against clinging to traditions (temple sacrifices) that have the appearance of being holy and godly but in reality are empty and dead because they don’t express the full revelation of the new covenant through Jesus Christ. 

Don’t get me wrong– I am not trying to say tradition is bad! Christians are a people of tradition, but by the Holy Spirit we are also a people of power and we must remember our power does not come from tradition and rituals. It comes from God’s very presence within us. Our traditions and doctrines are truths that express the power we are meant to actually possess and embody in Christ. The liturgies and rituals of worship are powerful facilitators of God’s presence when engaged among people whose hearts are expectant, surrendered and seeking. I’ve learned over many years that the Christian life is a pilgrimage existence, meaning we should always be moving in maturity and power toward Chist, or as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, from “glory to glory”— but it’s not our glory we’re leapfrogging along on, it’s God’s. The destination of our pilgrimage is not towards the destination of one day feeling we have satisfied the requirements for being called “good Christians,”  but it is union with the living God, himself! 

In order to do this we must allow God to change us and make us new in every area of our lives. This includes how we understand ourselves, our pasts, presents and futures, as well as how we relate to our churches and to God, himself. This is hard and can be soul-tiring work. Let’s face it, even our answered prayers don’t always get answered according to our expectations. I’m betting we’ve all had moments of wishing we could return to places and seasons of life that feel familiar and that were easier, even though we know those situations may not have been ideal. At least we felt like we were in control. 

Here’s the truth Brothers and Sisters: We are not in control and we cannot go back to “the way things were,” but we have nothing to fear! We have a good God who always provides, and always makes a way, and in him we find our rest. Like the writer of Hebrews says, “we hold firmly to our confidence and the boast of our hope,” who is the Lord, who will never leave us or forsake us.

Pray with me: 

Holy Spirit, you are God and your leading is trustworthy, your counsel is perfect, and your comfort is complete. Thank you for dwelling within us and among us. Show me the areas of my life where I am tempted to resist your leading so I may confess them and be forgiven and walk in victorious courage and conviction in your goodness. In faith I invite you to dwell more deeply within me. Lead me according to your calling and will for my life and give me wisdom and discernment to know your voice. I pray all of this is the saving and restoring name of Jesus Christ!