Hold On – We Do Not Shrink Back – We Persevere

Hold On – We Do Not Shrink Back
Pastor Calvin Cook
August 4, 2025

Scripture focus : Hebrews 10:35-39 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” 38 And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. (NIV)

The thought of giving up often enters our minds. It might not be an ending to something, but there are certainly times in our life in certain situations we ask “Is this all worth it ?” and the thought of giving up enters in. We can’t understand after laboring in prayer and being patient why the promises we have embraced don’t seem to materialize. This is not only true in what we are expecting from God and how we are expecting God to move, but in our own personal journey and the situations that we are trying to get through. Sometimes the hardest part of faith and being faithful is in holding on when we can’t necessarily see what’s ahead.

Hebrews 10 speaks directly to this tension. The writer of Hebrews urges: “Do not throw away your confidence.” Why? Because your confidence in Christ is the only thing that will remain when all else fades away and is certainly worth more than anything the world can offer. It is remembering even reliving the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for you. If it doesn’t humble you that someone would be willing and did die for you, I’m not sure what will.

The word “perseverance” has long echoed through my life—sometimes as a reminder, sometimes as a haunting. I’ve come to know that perseverance is essential to claiming what is both possible and purposeful. As Hebrews reminds us: “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

But here is the big question: Are you going to shrink back or press forward? God says, “My righteous one will live by faith.” Faith is not just about believing in a miracle it is about continuing to trust even when we can see the visible outcome.

The scripture from Hebrews that I shared with you ends with this powerful statement: “But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” That’s your identity. You are not one who gives up. You’re a person of faith. You are a child of the most high God. You have been invested with the authority that Jesus gave you. YOU PRESS ON! and You press on in the NAME OF JESUS. It is not because you are strong or determined it is because the GOD who lives in you is!

So, claim it, stand firm and be not only blessed but amazed at what God will do in your life today.

Hold on the Rescuer is already here !