As we step into month ten, I’m amazed that we are here. When starting this eleven month journey, month ten seemed so far off and out of sight, but I’m so amazed with the Lord and the journey of this year. I’ve been reading Hebrews where there are so many promises and truths of God.
Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith and salvation – he chose to break the power of death and free us from being chained to fear (check out chapter 2). We are called to fix our thoughts on Jesus, to hold firmly to our confidence and hope in Him. He calls us to rest as the people of God, to dive deep into His truth with the alive and active word of God, and move beyond elementary teachings and forward to maturity (read chapters 4-6).
At the end of chapter 5, it warns against falling away due to no longer trying to understand – in this way we get stuck in drinking milk in infancy which keeps us from being acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. The mature consume solid food and “who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good and evil” (5:14).
I don’t know about you, but I want this – everything within me has a desire to grow, learn, and love. I want to grow in intimacy with the Lord and rest with peace and joy in His love, truth, and promises. As we continue in this race and next season of life, I want to continue in maturity and grow in intimacy with God and others.
I want to encourage you with this: the promises of God. In chapter 6, we see the example of Abraham who waited patiently and for us we have this truth to stand on: “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (6:19-20). This truth is explained in greater detail in chapter nine saying the sacrifice and blood of Jesus is the ultimate price once and for all.
Jesus changes everything, and we receive the gift of hope and a solid foundation in our relationship with Him. This relationship, freedom, and growth isn’t for one year on the World Race or one season of our life. We have the privilege and gift of walking alongside Him for all of our days. In this season and the ones to come, I want to encourage you with this: “we want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (6:11-12).
Walk with diligence. Live this life with diligence and constant use of solid food as you train. Some things take practice and time to become disciplines or part of your routine, but I want to encourage you that the training is worth it. Seek diligence in this time. What does your training look like now? What do you want it to look like? What step can you take today to consume solid food?
Look to those who you want or God asks you to imitate. I think of my mentor and dear friend Susan, her character and relationship with the Lord. She lives with these truths as her solid foundation – full of hope, faith, and patience as she seeks the Lord and rests in His promises. I want to imitate her as we seek to imitate Jesus. Who do you want to imitate? Who or what are you currently imitating?
