Daily Affirmations - Day 7 - A Teachable Spirit - Endurance, Encouragement, Hope
- Alisa B.
- May 30
- 2 min read
Day 7: Endurance, encouragement, hope
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope (Romans 15:4).
Heavenly Father, from ancient times You have given us Your holy Scriptures —a record of Your love and grace to humanity. In the past You spoke... through the prophets at many times and in various ways (Hebrews 1:1), pointing always to one central figure and message— the Messiah-Son, You would send— God in human form, to reconcile a broken, fallen world back to Yourself.
Scripture— carefully transcribed, protected, and preserved for centuries; read in synagogues and studied in the temple— bore witness to all that had been written of Him, and of Your plan.
These were the Scriptures "the people's chief priests and teachers of the law" consulted when King Herod asked them where the Messiah was to be born, after Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:1-6).
These were the Scriptures that were embedded in the national and religious life, history, and identity— referred to, quoted, celebrated, sung about, and discussed by the angel Gabriel, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the herald angel and heavenly host that visited the shepherds, and Simeon and Ana in the temple (Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2).
These were the Scriptures that the Lord Jesus Himself used to foil the devil's temptations (Matthew 4:1-10, Luke 4:1-13); that He unrolled in the the synagogue to describe His mission (Luke 4:16-21), and that He used to speak of Himself as their fulfillment (Matthew 5:17, Matthew 26:52-56, Luke 24:25-27, John 5:39, John 13:18, John 15:25).
These were the Scriptures He used to talk about Noah, Abraham, Lot's wife, Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses, David, Elijah. These were the Scriptures He used to challenge the religious rulers (Matthew 22:41-45), and these were the Scriptures He cried out from the cross (Matthew 27:46).
But He did not just speak about what had already been written, He continued and completed the message with His words, His actions, His life: At the end of these days [God] has spoken to us in [the person of the] Son, whom He has established heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds (Hebrews 1:2 – DARBY).
And just as carefully and as divinely originated as in the past (The Old Testament), You preserved these Scripture records for us (the New Testament), by the power of Your Holy Spirit— for in total they are the means of conveying to humans the comprehensive message of truth about God and His love. They are the message of endurance, encouragement and hope in the midst of the world's chaos, confusion, and despair.
In the natural world, lies, distortions, and empty promises shamelessly betray and destroy. This is but a microcosm of our spiritual reality. Give us teachable spirits so that we do not reject Your truth and choose lies that will devour our soul. Help us to choose You. To choose Your grace.
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