Endurance by Faith

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

Pray

God is not interested in giving us faith, only for us to turn around and surrender. We must endure. And to endure with faith we must remain in the good fight.

The author of Hebrews wants his audience to have endurance. He does not want to see his readers give up. So he tells them three imperatives to enduring in the faith.

Get Up!

If you’ve ever been injured, you know the difficulty of getting up. Sometimes the pain is so great that it takes everything you’ve got just to get up. But if we are to endure by faith, we cannot stay down. Look at verses 12-13:

Hebrews 12:12–13 ESV

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

Sounds like this group of readers had undergone difficulty that left them battered and worn. Their hands are weak - so much they sag at their sides. Their knees are paralyzed - that’s the Greek word used here. Their feet are lame - the only time that word is used in the NT were it is not connected to a miraculous healing is right here.

He calls them to strengthen their weakened hands and paralyzed knees. That’s not just this author talking, either. He’s actually referring back to Isaiah 35:

Isaiah 35:3–4 ESV

3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

These verses emphasize how faith must endure when external circumstances make it difficult. Sometimes faith is made difficult through no fault of our own. Just as an injury is often from an accident or from someone else’s fault, faith is hindered when we face tough scenarios that we do not bring on ourselves. Enduring with faith, then, requires that we heal. We cannot allow hurts, hang-ups, or disabilities cause us to lose faith. We must persevere through the difficulties. We are to work at bringing healing instead of wallowing in self-pity or allowing ourselves to become worthless in the work of the kingdom.

But how? We do not have the strength in us to strengthen our weak hands and paralyzed knees, but God does. His strength is perfect in weakness. We cannot make straight the path before our lame feet, but God can. He is the one who goes before us, and when we trust in him he will straighten our paths. He is our strength, and he will empower us to get up when we are broken. So Get Up!

Goal Up!

Hebrews 12:14 ESV

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Peace allows us to persevere together. When we strive for peace, we are willing to put minor things behind us. We do not dwell on how so-and-so did this thing to us. We do not hold grudges that prevent us from being one in the Spirit. We do not harbor animosity that cuts off the work of God and preoccupies our minds. We do not hide hatred under the guise of fellowship and thereby become enemies of the gospel we proclaim. Peace, like love, bears all things.

Besides, God has made us at peace with himself - surely what they did to us is small compared to what God has forgiven of us. Striving for peace helps us have that selfless, sacrificial attitude of Christ - our Prince of Peace. It enables us to look just like God does.

But peace without holiness is not true peace. It may be amicable, and it may be comforting, but it is not biblical peace. Holiness is the ultimate pursuit.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 ESV

7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

1 Peter 1:14–16 ESV

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

When we pursue holiness, we pursue the Holy One. Endurance is not possible without a goal to endure for, so endure by faith to be holy and at peace. Goal Up!

Guard Up!

Hebrews 12:15 ESV

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Failing to obtain the grace of God

The root of bitterness refers back to Deuteronomy 29:18, where Moses warns the people about following false gods:

Deuteronomy 29:18 ESV

18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit,

The author of Hebrews is calling us to guard against faithlessness toward God. We must not fail to obtain God’s grace by pursuing wanna-be gods instead of the true God. That’s why that root of bitterness causes so many to be defiled, and that’s why we must guard against it. Put your guard up, child of God!

Hebrews 12:16–17 ESV

16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

What did Esau do that was so unholy? Genesis 25:29-34 tell the story: Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. Then, when it came time for Isaac to bless them before his death, Jacob stole his father’s blessing by pretending to be Esau (Genesis 27). When Esau found out, he begged his father to bless him also.

Esau traded something monumental for something menial - he regarded the legacy of his father (i.e. the birthright) to be worth a single bowl of stew. His craven desires ruled over him, and Esau missed the eternally significant to fulfill a temporary craving. No stew is that good. Guard yourselves against merely following your desires and cravings. They will always lead you away from God’s will.

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