Hebrews 6:11-15 -- On Promises and Patience

"And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise."
Hebrews 6:11-15


I like the idea here of promise keeping, or covenant, between ourselves and God... perhaps the simplest expression of the promise between us is in Jeremiah: "And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God" (Jeremiah 30:22), but it is found throughout the scriptures. Essentially, God promises to guide us if we promise to follow him.

Complexity is added by the details of our roles, what following entails, what rewards a God can offer, whether we think we need guidance or not, whether we think the final destination is worth it, etc., but at the core is still the same deal. We want to go back to God, and God wants us back, so he promises to show us the way, but it is on us to follow the directions to get there. :)

Today, let's "be not slothful" and with the "full assurance of hope" work on following the directions. :) Then we, like Abraham, can also obtain the fulfillment of God's promise by doing the part that we promise... in this case it was patiently enduring, which we also have to do, but when we think endure, let's not just think "bad" but also look forward to patiently enduring some good times as well.