"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebreus 10:35-36"
— Hebreus 10:35-36
There are moments when the Christian life feels heavy. Not because God has failed or because you have failed, but simply because exhaustion, doubt, and external pressures begin to erode our willingness to follow. On these Sundays, when we should be renewed for the week ahead, sometimes we find ourselves depleted, questioning whether it's still worth investing in a faith that costs us so much.
The apostle Paul, writing to the Hebrews, knew exactly about this. His community faced real persecution, loss of possessions, social rejection. Some of them were considering turning back, abandoning faith in Jesus to recover the security they once had. And it is in this context of weakness that Paul launches one of the most powerful statements in the Bible: "Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded."
But notice the word that follows: persevere. It is not a blind or masochistic perseverance. It is a perseverance that knows who it is looking toward. The writer to the Hebrews devotes an entire previous chapter speaking about the faith of characters who "did not receive the things promised" (Hebreus 10:39), yet still remained faithful. They saw God's promises from afar and embraced them. Their faithfulness was not rewarded in this life, but they knew that God never lies. What about you? Do you still believe that?
The reward Paul speaks of is not necessarily material or immediate. It is the final prize of God's presence, of divine justice, of eternal communion. When you persevere in faith even when circumstances cry out the opposite, you are saying to God: "I trust your word more than my feelings." That is the courage the world cannot understand, but that transforms lives.
Today, if you are tired, know that this tiredness is not a sign of failure. It is a sign that you are fighting for something that matters. Allow God to renew you this Sunday. Exchange your strength for his. And when Monday arrives with its challenges, you will move forward not because you are strong, but because you trust in the One who is.