"Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." - Hebrews 3:12-13

This is a sobering, frightening, soul-gripping text. I confess that as I think about the possibility of becoming hardened by my sin, I am tempted to be afraid. After all, I know the depths of my own depravity. I'm wicked and ungodly, often straying, and with a heart that quickly loves other things. How am I to be sure that I won't stray from God or let my heart become deceived by sin? How will I ever make it to the end?

Then I remember glorious passages such as Jude 1:24, which says, "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy..." Oh what sweet words these are! My confidence does not ultimately lie in my ability to fight sin or the spiritual insight of those in my accountability group. My confidence is in our great and glorious Savior, who promised that He would never lose me or leave me or let me go. My confidence is firmly placed in the one who hung upon the cross and died in my place. My hope for heaven is in the One who purchased heaven for me. Christ, and Christ alone is my hope.

Take time today to thank Christ that He is the One who sustains you and keeps you. Thank Him that He will never let you go, and that nothing can snatch you from His hand. You are His forever, purchased by blood and sealed by the Spirit. That is our confidence.