Introduction
Are you tempted to give up, on your faith, your calling, your marriage, your parenting, your service, or your endurance in a confusing generation? God’s word to you in Hebrews 10 is clear: don’t throw away your confidence in Christ, hold fast and endure, because God has been faithful before and He has promised a reward that is sure.
Hebrews is written to believers standing at a fork in the road: We trusted Jesus… but now it’s hard. We don’t see Him working. We don’t feel it. Should we continue? And right where Scripture gives serious warnings, it also gives strong encouragement. Here, the encouragement has a banner over it:
Never give up, no matter what.
Main Points
Are you tempted to give up, on your faith, your calling, your marriage, your parenting, your service, or your endurance in a confusing generation? God’s word to you in Hebrews 10 is clear: don’t throw away your confidence in Christ, hold fast and endure, because God has been faithful before and He has promised a reward that is sure.
Hebrews is written to believers standing at a fork in the road: We trusted Jesus… but now it’s hard. We don’t see Him working. We don’t feel it. Should we continue? And right where Scripture gives serious warnings, it also gives strong encouragement. Here, the encouragement has a banner over it:
Never give up, no matter what.
Hold On to Your Confidence
Hebrews 10:35–36 says, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”
Notice what I’m asking you to do: not to manufacture confidence from scratch, but to keep it, to refuse to throw it away. Confidence in God is a Spirit-born byproduct of walking with Him, trusting Him, and remembering who He is.
And endurance isn’t vague positivity. Endurance is staying faithful until you’ve done the will of God and until you receive what He promised. There is something ahead of you, real reward, real promise, real fulfillment in Christ.
So when the question rises, “Why shouldn’t I quit?”, Hebrews gives you an answer you can hold in your hands for the rest of your life: Don’t discard your confidence. Guard it. Feed it. Return to it.
Remember Your Illuminated Beginnings
Hebrews 10:32 begins, “But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings…”
When I can’t see God working now, one of the most stabilizing things I can do is recall what God has already done. The writer calls conversion “illumination”, the moment light broke in, Christ became real, and the purpose of life finally made sense.
And then what followed? Struggle.
That’s an important discipleship lesson: suffering isn’t proof you missed God. Often it’s evidence you’re actually following Him. Many of you can testify: the joy of salvation was soon accompanied by real warfare, real pressure, and real endurance.
Here’s practical homework for you: go read Psalm 77:10–14. The psalmist is in anguish and then says, “I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High… I will remember the works of the LORD… I will meditate… and talk of all Your deeds.” When your present feels shaky, you strengthen your confidence by remembering God’s past faithfulness.
So I want you to do this in prayer: name specific moments where God carried you, when you were lost, addicted, hopeless, broken, near divorce, overwhelmed, or afraid, and He met you. Those memories aren’t just history; they are fuel for endurance today.
Expect Reproach Without Surprise
Hebrews 10:33 speaks of being “made a spectacle… by reproaches and tribulations.” Following Jesus brings moments where people will misunderstand you, criticize you, or speak falsely about you.
Jesus said it plainly: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26). If we never experience any pressure for standing with Christ, we should at least ask whether we’re actually living as light in a dark world.
When God turns the light on through your life, your convictions, your obedience, your purity, your truthfulness, your allegiance to Christ, some people won’t celebrate it. That doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It may mean you’re finally shining.
So don’t let reproach steal your confidence. Let it refine it.
Link Arms With the Suffering Church
Hebrews 10:33–34 also says they became “companions of those who were so treated… for you had compassion on me in my chains…”
This is discipleship with backbone: we don’t sit safely on the sidelines while other believers suffer. We link arms. We pray. We identify with them. We support the mission of God even when it costs something.
Around the world, there are believers, our brothers and sisters, who worship in what’s often called the underground church, where following Jesus can mean imprisonment. Hebrews commends Christians who did not detach for self-preservation. They stayed near the suffering saints.
I want you to learn this posture: “We are with them.” Because when Christ is opposed, His body stands together.
Let Heaven Reframe Earthly Loss
Hebrews 10:34 says they “joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.”
That sentence is shocking, joyfully accepted loss. How? Not because they were “extra spiritual,” but because they had extra perspective.
They could endure because they believed what Jesus taught: reward is real, and it is ultimately stored in heaven. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you… Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11–12).
So hear me carefully: I’m not telling you to go looking for persecution. I’m telling you to stop being ruled by the fear of it. When you know your lasting treasure is secure in Christ, the temporary losses of obedience cannot ultimately crush you.
Ask yourself: When is the last time I let the promises of God grab my attention more than the pressures of today? Busyness shrinks eternity. But Scripture re-expands your vision until your heart can say, “Even if I lose something here, I gain something that lasts.”
Live by Faith Until He Comes
Hebrews 10:37–39 says, “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith… We are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
This is the final strengthening of your confidence: your trial is not forever, and Christ is not late. “Yet a little while”, that’s God’s perspective on your suffering. I know some laps feel long, but your life really will pass quickly, and you will stand before Jesus.
Whether Christ returns in our lifetime or we meet Him first through death, the promise is the same: this endurance is temporary; His reward is eternal. Paul teaches that present afflictions cannot compare with the glory to be revealed (implied from Romans 8:18).
So I say this to you as your brother and as someone who also needs the reminder: don’t draw back into the old life of destruction. That’s not who you are. If you’ve been illuminated, if you’ve tasted God’s goodness, then you are not a person marked by retreat. By grace, you are one of those “who believe to the saving of the soul.”
Conclusion
To endure, I hold confidence with both hands:
- I look back and remember, God has already carried me through “former days” of struggle, and His faithfulness has a track record in my life (Hebrews 10:32; Psalm 77:10–14).
- I look forward and expect, I have “better and enduring possessions” in heaven, and my reward is secure in Christ (Hebrews 10:34–36; Matthew 5:11–12).
So don’t give up, no matter what. Don’t throw away your confidence. Keep going. Keep trusting. Keep obeying. Keep worshiping even when you don’t see it or feel it. “Yet a little while,” and the One who promised will come.
Father, strengthen my confidence in You. Forgive me for the moments I’ve been tempted to throw it away through fear, weariness, or disappointment. Help me remember the former days, how You illuminated my heart, saved me, and carried me through trials. Teach me to endure with joy, to stand with Your people when they suffer, and to value eternal reward more than temporary comfort. Lord Jesus, fix my eyes on Your return and keep me living by faith. Make me someone who does not draw back, but believes to the saving of the soul. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
To endure, I hold confidence with both hands:
- I look back and remember, God has already carried me through “former days” of struggle, and His faithfulness has a track record in my life (Hebrews 10:32; Psalm 77:10–14).
- I look forward and expect, I have “better and enduring possessions” in heaven, and my reward is secure in Christ (Hebrews 10:34–36; Matthew 5:11–12).
So don’t give up, no matter what. Don’t throw away your confidence. Keep going. Keep trusting. Keep obeying. Keep worshiping even when you don’t see it or feel it. “Yet a little while,” and the One who promised will come.
Closing Prayer
Father, strengthen my confidence in You. Forgive me for the moments I’ve been tempted to throw it away through fear, weariness, or disappointment. Help me remember the former days, how You illuminated my heart, saved me, and carried me through trials. Teach me to endure with joy, to stand with Your people when they suffer, and to value eternal reward more than temporary comfort. Lord Jesus, fix my eyes on Your return and keep me living by faith. Make me someone who does not draw back, but believes to the saving of the soul. In Jesus’ name, amen.