Between the Promise and the Breakthrough

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” – Romans 8:25, NKJV

I wonder how many times Abraham felt like giving up. He was promised a great family who would fill the earth and yet year after year went by with no sign of even one child. Or even the entire nation of Israel, wandering in the wilderness waiting to someday enter the fabled promised land God had promised generations ago. What about David before becoming king? He’d been promised a glorious kingdom, and yet he’d spent years upon years in the wilderness, running for his very life and eventually taking refuge under a foreign king. Here stood the anointed king of Israel, serving a pagan king.

Throughout the Bible, person upon person had valid reasons for wanting to give up. The nation of Israel was persecuted. Daniel was unjustly accused and thrown in a lion’s den. Jeremiah spoke only the truth God gave him and they put him in a cistern. All these people were sent upon a mission which, at first glance, seemed extremely hopeless.

Are You Tired of Believing?

How often do our own lives feel like that—like we’ve been given an assignment which at first sounds so marvelous only to finally realize how difficult it is to stay the course and see God’s vision for our lives come to pass?

We have all received a promise from God. In fact, the Bible is full of them. Some have received a promise of a blessed life or one abounding with joy. Others have received the promise of physical health and wellness. Many have believed God for family members who’ve stepped away from the faith. The list goes on and on. We read the Bible and claim God’s promises, believing for provision, protection, and peace in every area of our lives. And yet, it is one thing to receive a promise, and another to have the patience to keep believing it will come to pass even in the middle of a life that appears to have turned upside down.

As I’ve been thinking back upon the promises God has made me and my family, I am reminded of the need for perseverance built upon faith. It is easy to believe in one moment that we will see God’s words come to pass. But to sustain that belief for a lifetime is an altogether different matter.

What Does it Mean to Persevere?

In Romans 8:25, the original meaning for the word “persevere” is to stay under or to remain or abide. Paul found himself writing to a church facing discouragement and undergoing persecution. They were trying to figure out whether it was worth it to stay the course and remain faithful when it would have been, temporarily, so much easier to fall back from their faith. But Paul shares with them a powerful message: If you hope for those things which have been promised and you do not yet see, then stay the course, stay under the promise and abide there, waiting for God to break through.

I believe the key here is to abide. The gospel of John had much to say on this. But the key is that in the waiting, and in the trial, it is abiding or steadfastly remaining in Christ which makes all the difference.

What would have happened if Abraham gave up? Even though God could have brought about His will in numerous ways, it probably would have looked different than what we know today. What would have happened if Israel had completely given up on entering the promised land? They temporarily did that, and it cost them forty years in the desert. But after those forty years, could you imagine what would have happened if they’d turned their backs on God? Or what would have happened if David had given up? For that matter, what about all these Bible heroes we so often read about? If they had given up, we wouldn’t be reading about their victories.

Between the Promise and Fulfillment

Something happened to each and every one of them between the promise and the fulfillment. I believe what happened in between was a persevering faith that refused to give up, even when the going got rough. It was a faith which chose to abide in God, and trust in His grace to bring forth what would humanly have been impossible.

In Hebrews 11, faith is described as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. If we took God’s promises for our lives, and stayed the course under pressure, abiding in Jesus until we see them come to pass, what could our stories be? What would people remember us for?

Hold Fast

As the year comes to a close and we begin to reflect on the things we accomplished or failed to do, let us decide to push through and hold fast to the promises of God. Like Abraham, let us believe that He who promises is faithful. Like Israel, let us believe that He who took us out of Egypt is capable of leading us into the Promised Land. Like King David, let us believe that there is victory and a glorious kingdom on the other side of the persecution. Let us cling to God’s promises, holding on to Him, remembering that on the other side of the disappointment, discouragement, or lack of breakthrough, there is a reward and joy to be had.

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

In your journey to hope for the promise you have yet to see, remember this: If you’ve been feeling hopeless, there is hope. If you’ve been feeling joyless, there is joy. If you’ve been feeling discouraged, there is fresh courage available. Why? Because Jesus Himself, our great example, has walked this very same path before. He knows and understands us fully. Like Him, we can look at whatever cross we are facing, and have joy because on the other side of it there is resurrection. Let us abide in Jesus, fixing our eyes on Him, and run with endurance the race!

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2, NKJV

Until next time,
Anna

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