Hebrews 3:14 – We have come to share in Christ if (emphasis mine) we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

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Over the years of my Bible reading, study and meditation I continually come across that little word “if”. Songs have been written about that word, poems and no doubt countless commentaries have been written expounding on its importance.

This little word “if” holds an even deeper meaning than the sentiments found in songs and poems. God has something very important, even critical to communicate about this seemingly innocuous little word.

From my reading and meditation today, what I sense that God is saying about the word “if” is this. If I don’t pay attention to that little word “if”… I will go the way of so many wayward sheep before me. I will drift. (Heb. 2:10) I can drift in a many different ways. I can drift away from my hope and rest in the finished work of Christ and slip back into thinking I have to “be good enough” to work my way into Heaven. I can drift into worry about the daily cares and anxieties of this life. There are so many ways to drift.

Today I see many, no multitudes of people losing hope, losing courage and losing sight of the fact that we don’t have to take these worries upon ourselves. We Christians need to keep at the forefront of our minds that we are His house. If I don’t believe that Jesus suffered death so that I wouldn’t have to taste death (Heb 2:9), I will stand before God one day and pay sins‘ penalty myself.

Would the divine builder leave us without protection from the storms of this life? It seems He gives us the choice to walk backward toward that which could never save us or the better choice to walk forward in the truths He has revealed to us, namely the confidence we have in Christ. I do not want to be like those Israelites whom God said (Heb. 3:16) would never enter His rest. God did not just “say this” he swore it. And so today, I am reminded yet again that my confidence is not in the job I hold, the amount of money in my savings account, whether I am healthy or sick . . . my confidence is not in my circumstances…. nor the amount of “good works” I do in my lifetime. No my confidence, and the one thing that will assure that I am accepted by God is that I hold onto my courage and the hope with which (1 Cor. 1:31) I boast in Christ.

Thank you Father God for that sweet assurance and your gentle reminder today.