Don't Throw Away Your Faith

Written by Superintendent Bob Wilburn

35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

Heb 10:35-36

Each of us know of individuals who once knew God but no longer walk with Him. Once in the Church…perhaps in the ministry but now distant and detached from what they once were and what they once did. At one point they were faithful and fervent but now the fire is gone, their priorities have changed and their life has taken another direction. Decisions determine destiny and ultimately…..destination.

Paul admonishes us to not cast away/throw away our confidence. The implication is that we are responsible for our faith/confidence. The diminishing of one’s faith and confidence in God is not something that happens 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 but it is that which we allow to happen in our spirit.

Granted, things happen in our lives and ministries that Satan uses to undermine our faith. John the Baptist experienced a crisis of confidence and sent messengers to Jesus asking, “Are you the One that should come or look we for another?”

Demas, co-worker with Paul—can you imagine what he saw and experienced as he worked side by side with a passionate, persistent, and Pentecostal Paul—yet he reached a point where he cast his confidence aside, for Paul said: “Demas hath left me having loved this present world!”

A diminished faith and confidence weakens our worship, our witness, and our warfare.

Faith/confidence in our abilities, talents, personality, connections, and resources will never carry us through the challenges of ministry. Faith/confidence in man will result in disappointment and bitterness. Our confidence must be in God and His Word.

We can trust Him! He said He would never leave us or forsake us—we can trust Him! The Word says He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother—we can trust Him! He said in this world we would have trouble but to be of good cheer for He has overcome the world—we can trust Him! He said He would give us wisdom if we would ask Him—we can trust Him! He said that in His name we could lay hands on the sick and they would recover, cast out demons and speak with new tongues—we can trust Him! He said we could ask anything in His name and He would do it—we can trust Him!

What a privilege to trust Him who was, who is, and who is to come!

Paul said it with certainty, and he said it so succinctly:

“𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝!”

For The Harvest,

Bob Wilburn