Hebrews 8:8-12 – “For finding fault with them, He says,  “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 9 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord.  10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.  And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  ¹¹ “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.  ¹² “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”   NASB

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God, persistence, patience, and perseverance kept echoing in my heart and mind.  I read challenging and encouraging things in Proverbs, but one account of one person in Hebrews 11 held my focus.  

Hebrews 11:8-10, the account of Abraham, challenged and encouraged me.   Abraham received a promise and a call that would be a challenge for anyone, and more than many could have embraced.   He was promised an inheritance that was almost too good to be true.   That inheritance was in a land he had never seen and would require leaving everything behind.   His possessions, position, and even his acceptance, and become a nomad with no position or assurance of acceptance.   

In verse 9, we read that he lived as an alien in the land of promise.   Imagine living surrounded by what God said was yours, only to find it was a dream, not an earthly reality.  He knew God said it, but he possessed nothing but a dream (hope).  He waited and waited and waited, living in tents, not owning an inch of the inheritance!  

God said, but it remained only a dream.   That required faith, persistence, patience, and perseverance.   If he stops believing even for a moment, it is over!   He died without possessing the promise in the natural.   He died in Hope!  Yet, the Bible treats it as though it were a present reality.   His descendants occupied the place of promise centuries later, having confidence that they were occupying the land Abraham owned. 

No matter what, do not cast away your confidence!   Persistence, patience, and perseverance are always a choice.   We can go back.  (Hebrews 11:15-16).   That would mean death spiritually, but that option is always there.   But if we press on and press in, we will reap the reward of obedience and faith.

Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God, FOR He who comes to God MUST believe that He IS, and that He IS a rewarder of those who seek Him.”   This life is not lived by willpower or fleshly ability but by Trust in God.  It is trusting Him to do in and through us what we cannot do.

So, persist in patience with perseverance, and you will see the promises!   Your persistence and perseverance guarantee that the promises will be realities.  Maybe not your lifetime, but they are as sure as God Himself.

Never stop, God doesn’t.   LORD, help us to persist and not just live in a Dream but live the Dream.