Holding Tightly to the Faith

Friday, June 16, 2023

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Hebrews 10:23

One of the reasons true Kingdom Families hold together better is that we were designed to be people of faith.  The how of holding tightly to our hope is that little phrase:  without wavering.  It is certainly easy to get sidetracked these days.  I see it every year when we attempt to enlist people to serve.  Holding fast to God’s faith has more to do than just being convinced in your mind that Jesus saves.  It has to do with serving consistently. 

 Every believer who draws near to God’s house should hold tightly to the faith with his service.  The why of this is found in what Paul said about the promises of Jesus, they’re faithful; they always come true.  Jesus promised rewards to His followers who serve Him faithfully, and it is a true promise!  The issue of holding tightly to the faith is important for making an impact on this world…at the very least, the small space we occupy in that larger world. 

I am only vaguely aware of how God fits everything together.  But looking back we see more clearly.  I was searching through some old papers and came across a note from Sarah Hollis.  Sarah was our daughter’s friend; they were both age 10 when we moved to Jacksonville, Florida.  She rode our van to church each week; her parents never came.  I had the privilege of baptizing Sarah.  One Sunday she came to me with a two-fold request.  She wanted me to pray for her uncle and his wife, and also go see them to “baptize their baby”.  When I met Sarah’s uncle and his wife it was clear they had very little church background.  What they had was worried hearts over a very sick, premature baby in an incubator. 

They wanted me to baptize their baby; the doctors said he was going to die within a day or so.  My heart went out to them.  As a Baptist pastor I couldn’t baptize this infant, but I would pray for him with everything I had.  I was fearful of the trust that couple placed in me as they asked me to talk to God for their son.  I told them the little kitten-sized child was in God’s hand.  I held their hands and we prayed.  That was in 1990.  Five years later Sarah wrote me this note:

…I still remember the day you prayed for Scott (my cousin) and gave his parents faith and helped them believe.  On the 28^th of this month he turns 5 year[s] old.  Today is his party.  Thank you for giving me the faith and hope.  Thank you, Sarah

Sarah remembered that day as a time when her pastor gave her faith.  At the time my main thought was frustration over Sarah putting me in an awkward situation about baptizing a baby.  I’d never even laid eyes on his parents.  I went, because I was her pastor.  But I went, mostly because I couldn’t deny Sarah’s pleading eyes. 

Looking back, I know, and she also probably knows, it was God who gave her faith.  In the end, God used a pastor doing his job to build faith in a little girl.  And God used a 10 year-old kid’s faith to spur a forty-something, Christian pastor into good works.  Sarah impacted my life with her faith, and my faith was strengthened because of her impact[1]. 

For You Today 

God keeps his promises…if you forget everything you hear today, but you learn to trust in that one fact…and hold tightly to it…your faith will be rock-solid in the only One who holds the keys of Heaven, hell, and eternity.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Root System  and  Living Into the Seed of Promise  and  Holding Tightly This Promise                                        

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] See Isaiah 11:6 …a little child will lead them all.  Also Hebrews 13:2 …entertained angels without realizing it.