We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19
Sometimes one’s patience reaches a breaking point when failure follows failure. When things continually go wrong in one’s vocation, the following questions are in place: What is God telling me? Does He want me to do something else? Such questions must have occurred to Anthony Young, a major-league baseball pitcher who made the record book by losing 27 straight games. Patience, while it is a virtue that the Bible greatly extols, needs to be practiced with persistence and discretion.
To be sure, Christian patience is in place without qualification in matters where God has clearly spoken. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews makes this point with regard to Abraham, the father of the believers. God had promised him a son from whose offspring would come the Savior of the world. But the possibility of having an offspring seemed remote to Abraham because of the advanced age of both Abraham and Sarah. The son God had promised seemed slow in coming, with Abraham 85 years old and Sarah, 75, when Isaac was born. But Abraham had patience, as Saint Paul observes, “He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised” (Romans 4:20-21).
It is from strong faith that patience and perseverance spring. Faith rests on God’s promises—in our time on the fulfilled promises—that He would send His own dear Son to give His life for the reconciliation of us all. That Son was Jesus of Nazareth. Faith adheres to the Word of God even when one’s outlook on life is dim. What God has promised is sure, for He cannot lie. It is therefore with unswerving patience we grasp and hold fast to the hope of salvation offered us in the Gospel. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure,” the writer to the Hebrews assures us in chapter 6 verse 19.
PRAYER: Lord God, strengthen my convictions in all areas of life where You give me Your clear promises. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 26-27 1 Corinthians 15:1-28
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