A Friendly Reminder
A wonderful text message from my amazing friend Sade Abiodun really reminded me how thankful I am for friend like her. The message really inspired me this week and I hope it does the same for you:
We rarely talk about and first handedly know scripture that is related to how to deal with the tough stuff, the rainy days. And whether those rainy days come now or much later for you, and yes I do mean YOU (not just the general you of everyone this goes out to) I hope you hear and take to heart what they say.
“Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion."
~ Hebrews 10:32-39 (MSG)
In many ways and for many reasons, Hebrews is known as the book of faith. Chapter by chapter, it breaks down the fundamentals of Christianity, the why's and how's and what's of our Faith. But today, this passage especially sticks out, because not only does it talk about faith, it talks about confidence.
Spiritual confidence isn't something we address often, but in many ways I think it's the perfect fusion of Faith, Hope and Love, the 'key three.' Confidence comes through when our faith is strong, our hope is long lasting and our love permeates everything we do. It's the gleam in someone's eye when they talk about God, the boldness in action and conviction, the clear light and life radiating from someone whether during trial or triumph.
It's a spiritual swagger: so easy to see yet so easily the first thing to go when we start to doubt.
This passage makes it pretty clear how integral that confidence is, how important it is to not just throw it away. Because when the confidence leaves, the faith follows. We must always hold the hope and the love that we have in the promise for not only what we do, but who we are in God.
“If we lose sight of that ‘light,’ if we don’t cling to it all the way through, we sink. But if we’re able to fight for it, if we ‘stick it out’ and keep pushing just like we did at first, we won’t only survive, we’ll thrive.”
What that means, though, is knowing what it was like when we first saw the light, revisiting the honeymoon phase and figuring out what made it so special:
What did it feel like when nothing the world did bothered you?
What was it like to see God before you and not worry about what was behind or around?
And if you haven't experienced either of things yet, how do you know when and if you've really experienced the light?
Long story short, it's all about the confidence, so where's yours?