“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16
There is so much uncertainty surrounding us day by day. Terrorism is on an exponential rise, epidemics are seemingly running rampant with no measure of control, and nature is exacting its revenge from coast to coast with innumerable natural disasters. Everywhere you turn you are faced with fear, anxiety, and almost no cause for peace or joy. Even as a Christian, it can be hard to keep that hope inside alive. All too often I find myself in a pattern of worry.
The writer of Hebrews understood these tendencies all too well. No doubt the audience was experiencing turmoil on the level we see so many people dealing with today. Some commentaries suggest that the audience had begun experiencing the cost of following Christ to such a degree that it was causing them to lose their faith and some of them were even turning away from God altogether. The writer reminds his readers to hold fast to the faith and remember that Jesus is our High Priest. His reminder of these two facts are meant to strengthen and encourage us in our walk with God despite our circumstances. He understood the weight of the pressures of this world. He understood the need to be reminded of what we are holding to and why.
This past week I found myself feeling a slight panic about the reality that I’m powerless against today’s enemies to protect myself and my family. I spent much time in prayer about God protecting us from all the evils and plagues permeating the news. So many people are dying such horrible, terrifying and painful deaths these days and it seems like the momentum is only gaining. But the writer of Hebrews tells us to hold fast, why? Because of Jesus. He is our High Priest.
“…let us hold firmly to the faith we profess…” Hold Fast! In these times of uncertainty, remember hold on to our faith. Hold on to what our hope rests securely in. We profess faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We say we believe that God is supreme, He is in control, and nothing can touch our lives without first passing through His hands. We have hope in the promises that tell us nothing can separate us from the love of God and that He loses not one of His sheep. As the reader begins to let go of their faith, worn out from the struggle to hang on, the writer gives the command to hold on with our lives. He knows the struggle is hard, He knows how easy it would be to let go now, but he still says, hang on!
“…For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Jesus, our High Priest. The writer of Hebrews keeps pointing us to this fact. In Old Testament times the high priest interceded for the people. This position was appointed by God. Jesus replaced the need for the Old Testament priest. Jesus was human and deity, He was tempted in all ways and perfectly sinless. He took on our punishment once and for all and secured our forgiveness and eternity. There is hope in this message. The hope that, what Jesus has done and Who He is for us, is eternal. Nothing can or will change that fixture of hope. The above passage also points to the precious truth that He, our Everlasting High Priest, was tempted in every way we are tempted. He has suffered in every way so He can empathize with us in our sufferings. When we come to Him in sorrow and loss and worry we can know He will know where we are, how we feel and because He faced these temptations and sufferings and never sinned, we can rest in faith that He will faithfully guide us through.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Approach the throne with boldness! We are to never stop coming to the throne of God. We are to come in full assurance that God will hear and He will act on our behalf. When the worries of life are carrying us away from God, we are to hold fast through prayer. This is a throne of grace, not judgment. This throne is where we find mercy- freedom from what we deserve, and grace- the freedom that we do not deserve. It is at the foot of this throne that we find all our needs are met. We miss out on so much peace and so much rest because we neglect the throne of grace. Our actions show we would rather run around worrying about the things we cannot control than go to God in prayer until we receive that sweet peace that surpasses all understanding.
I think there is a big misunderstanding about prayer. We so easily give up on praying about something if we don’t get the answer we were looking for when we are looking. Or we take God’s timing for a big ‘no’ to our prayer. I’m learning that sometimes praying for something for a long time winds up changing me in the process. As I grow in my walk, as I learn more about God, my prayers begin to change too. But none of that melioration could have been possible without continuously approaching the throne of grace.
The divine timing of these verses for me! After a week of prayer, and uncertainty, God spoke. He reminds us that our hope, our peace, our security rests solely on Him. Any source apart from Him will leave us hurt, discouraged, and in worry and fear. So what’s plaguing your mind today? What’s stealing your joy and diminishing your hope? Remember Christ our High Priest is interceding for us now. He meets us where we kneel, ready to deliver us through our valleys. Come boldly to His throne, tell Him where you are, seek His leading home. It is my prayer that this reminder will redirect your gaze from your worries to Him and restore your peace. God Bless!
bearingwithlove 