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What amazes me is that I can put just about any circumstance in there and it covers it! Don't throw away the confidence you have put in your _________, fill in the blank.........husband, child, diet, school, parents, church, pastor, I could go on and on.

I have need of patience..............amen to that! Don't we all need help in that area from time to time........or all the time? Once I am doing the will of God in my life, I need to live by faith. It is no mistake that these verses precede Chapter 11, which is the "Hall of Faith" chapter we refer to so often. The first verse in that chapter tells us what faith is: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

This chapter begins by telling us about Abel and Enoch. Then, in verse 6, it tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. These scriptures then state that God rewards those who diligently seek him, there is more about the great heroes of the faith, then scripture tells us that if those people had constantly thought about the "way it used to be" (they were being "drawn back"), they would have backslidden. (This reminds me of the Israelites in the wilderness, always thinking about the garlic and the leeks and the onions in Egypt, which caused them to turn their backs on God every time). but since these "heroes of the faith" kept their eyes on heaven, they were able to go to that place that Jesus is preparing for us.

It amazes me to read of the sufferings of these great heroes in verses 33-40. I think I've suffered a lot when I have a headache because of adjusting to a new way of eating, or when I've explained the short vowel sound to Caleb for the seventy eleventh time ...........and he still doesn't get it. These inconveniences I experience seem small in comparison to Hebrews 11:33-40.

I really want to "throw away my confidence" (in the fact that I will ever adjust to no sugar, or that Caleb will ever learn his phonics), or just plain old "give up", but I am commanded to have patience.  It is one of the fruits of the spirit, and I believe that is what the author of the devotion referred to when he said, "sometimes we need to dig deep and let God grow within us the spiritual fruit that has yet to ripen in our lives. Fruit takes many steps of growth before it becomes fruit. Many times I want "instant fruit", but God keeps telling me there is no other way to get fruit, than to let it mature.

Maybe I think I am not doing the will of God in my life. Maybe this is why we need to always "commit our ways" unto Him. God will let me know if I'm not doing His will.....usually with a major wall that I run into, but also through studying and meditating on His Word. God does not want us to just follow His directions blindly, He wants us to understand why He directs us along certain paths. One way to do this is to never neglect God's Word. Which is probably why God led me to write the article about How to have Daily Devotion's just before He led me to write about this.

Today's society has been called a "throw away" society. We use paper plates and paper napkins at meals. We cook our family dinners in minutes in the microwave oven. We go out and buy a new shirt or pair of pants when they get a tear in them or a button falls off, instead of repairing them. We buy a new car every 2 or 3 years or lease one that often. Our furniture usually wears out within 5 years and we purchase new that will probably only last as long. Things our grandparents saved up for, purchased and used for the rest of their lives, we replace many times in a lifetime.

Even our entertainment is "disposable". If we don't like what we see on one channel, we flip through the multiple channels available either on cable or satellite dish until we find something that pleases our eye. Within minutes our attention is drawn away, but we continue to stare catatonically at the screen, thinking it will get better any minute, or flipping through the channels again.

We are not taught in today's society to make anything last, not even relationships. If our marriages are difficult, we are instructed to end them. If our children give us trouble, we are told to give up on them. If our friends do something that doesn't please us, we dump them and go off looking for someone that fits our definition of "friend". If our careers or jobs become less than satisfying, we change careers. I think of my father, who worked in a factory for over 30 years, most of the time doing the same mundane job. How many times did he feel like quitting?

Perseverance is a quality that is no longer taught in our schools, our homes or even in some of our churches. If I am to truly be a "follower of Christ", then I must endeavor to follow all the Lord commanded me. Many times I have given up, but now that I understand that one section of scripture in Hebrews, I have pledged to God that I will begin to develop the spirit of perseverance in my life, so that when the trails that make me want to give up do come, I will be able to hang on until God works whatever it is in my life that He wants me to learn.

In doing this, I believe the trials themselves will become less troubling, I will be able to "go the distance" without giving up, as I lean more on God and His will for my life, and less on my own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

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