Hold Firmly

ByJim Stephens

Reading: Hebrews 4

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT)

Every time I’m faced with a challenge, whether I’m feeling discouraged and helpless, or whether I feel momentarily strong and temporarily successful—I have a choice to make. I must choose whether to try to hold on to a temporary good feeling, whether to try to dig my way out from a temporary sense of discouragement, or whether to simply hold firmly to what I really believe!

Today, I choose to hold firmly to what I believe!

  • I believe that God loves me not because I am good, but because he is good.
  • I believe that God loves me just as I am, not just as I should be, because I’ll never be just as I should be.
  • I believe that Jesus understands my weaknesses, and speaks on behalf of me (with all my weaknesses), in the presence of a perfect and holy and gracious God (who loves me anyhow, with all my weaknesses!).

By the way, it’s very frustrating to realize that I still have my weaknesses! After all these years, after all I’ve learned, after a lifetime of commitment to serving God and his people and his purpose, I still have my weaknesses.

And so again and again, sometimes boldly, often not so boldly, I grasp as firmly as I can this thing that I believe—that Jesus understands my weaknesses.

And so again and again, I come to the throne of my gracious God, where I ask for and receive his mercy, and again and again find grace to help me when I need it most.

Prayer:

Father, Thank you that I can hold firmly to this belief—that Jesus understands my weaknesses. And thank you that at your throne, my gracious God, I will again receive your mercy and find grace to help me when I need it most—today. Again. Amen.