It is incorrect to assume that the Christian journey
will become easier the further you travel. Consider your attempts at climbing a
mountain or reaching a higher elevation.
Every time I have climbed to Mystic Lake, the last push to the summit was the
steepest and the most strenuous part of the journey. According to my “Day Hikes in the Beartooth Mountains”
book, it’s a 7-mile roundtrip hike from the West Rosebud Trail with an
elevation gain of 1,200 feet. It hasn’t mattered if it was sunny, windy, rainy,
or snowing, it still gets harder with every step I take.
On another level, it has been observed that “the
more important the work, the more resistance you need to expect to feel.”
In Hebrews 10 the writer was addressing believers who had tasted fear. They
were exhausted, their friends and family had been imprisoned or killed, and
they were questioning their commitment. They were scared for their lives and
families. And we read this encouragement -
Hebrews 10:35,36 – Cast not away therefore your confidence, which
hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye
have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
There is a time when there is a temptation to throw away what we
have put our confidence in, and it is at that time when we need patience.
There comes a time when we have done the will of God and still not
received the promise of God!
It’s not just you, and it’s not just now!
For every one of you that has trudged on up over that last steep
incline before you rounded the corner and looked down on a mountain lake beach,
no one had to tell you it was worth the climb.
For those of you who are currently on in an incline in your faith
journey – it’s worth it!
You are almost to the summit and about to reach a whole new level
in what you can see, expect, and receive in your walk with God!Stephen referenced a timeless truth we still experience today.
Acts 7:17-19 But when the time of
the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and
multiplied in Egypt, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
The
same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they
cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
It had been 400 long years, and all during that time the people of
promise grew and multiplied.
But when it was almost time for the promise to be
fulfilled, they really began to feel forgotten.
They became slaves whose
children were taken from them. Even though things were getting harder, the children
of Israel were nearing the time of their departure from Egypt.
If things are getting harder for you it doesn’t mean it’s over.
If you are
experiencing greater challenges in your walk with God, you are right on time.
It
means you’re getting closer to seeing your promise fulfilled and your prayer
answered!The promise is still valid, and the reward is still real!