“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” ( Hebrews 10:35-36 )

Did you know that each one of us has a mission in life? God has a will concerning us. He has chosen something very special for each one of us, but it is up to us to carry it out. We learn what this will is, by renewing our minds to the Word of God and presenting ourselves as living sacrifices ( Romans 12:1-2 ). After we know what this is, then we should pursue it at all costs because it carries with it the promise of a very great reward.

These verses, encouraging us to continue in the will of God, come on the heels of persecution. They early church had been persecuted, ridiculed and publicly humiliated, however the writer is reminding us to continue on, not throwing away the confidence we have in Christ; because this carries with it a great and glorious compensation of reward ( Hebrews 10:35 ).

We are reminded that we will receive what God has promised us, even in the midst of painful trials and persecution. In fact if we are suffering in this way we can be confident that we are doing the will of God. Persecution comes because of the Word ( Matthew 13:21, Mark 4:17, Luke 8:13 ). If we are walking according to His will for our lives, we can be assured that we will probably be persecuted for it. It happened then, it will happen now.

Paul experienced this everywhere he went. There was such opposition to the gospel that He was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him wherever he went. “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” ( II Corinthians 12:7-10 ).

Satan tried his best to snuff out the gospel message from being preached, so he stirred up trouble and persecution everywhere Paul went. He constantly faced resistance to preaching the gospel message because it is the power of God ( Romans 1:16 ). He was constantly under the fear of death; however he also had a promise from God that His grace was sufficient to overcome any opposition. Paul was reminded not to throw away his confidence in Christ because it came with a great reward. The reward Paul received was millions of believers coming to know Christ throughout the centuries because of his perseverance with the message he was sent to preach ( Romans 1:1 ).

We like Paul, and countless others, need to persevere in the midst of trials and persecution so that we can complete the will of God for our lives. We need to rest in the confidence we have through faith in Jesus Christ who enables us to carry it out. We should disregard everything that hinders us and run the race set before us looking only to the glorious finish line ( Hebrews 12:1-3 ). Then for the rest of eternity we will also enjoy to the fullest of what God has promised us!

Do you place an importance on gaining wisdom? King Solomon was the wisest man ever to live and he gave instructions on seeking wisdom. Take a lesson from him on how important wisdom is to the believer.