It is common to wonder about God’s apparent absence amidst tragedy, hardship, and atrocities across the globe...why evil people seem to prosper and go unpunished. We must remember, however, God's perspective and understanding infinitely more complete than ours, and while we are often very quick to focus on the evil around us that requires judgment, we are less apt to want judgement on the sin inside our own hearts. God mercifully delays His judgement and graciously blesses in the meantime, but we must be careful to not mistake the delays and the blessings as approval of sin...ours or the world's. Make no mistake, God's judgment will fall upon all of the evil in this world, in each of our hearts, and it is only by being washed clean in the cleansing, sacrificial blood of Jesus that we may be found holy and righteous in God's sight.
Paying attention to the “small words” in the bible is of critical importance for us. Whether it is “and” or “but” or “if,” all of these make a huge difference in understanding what the Lord is telling us. And in Hebrews, we see a lot of these, and in particular we see a lot of two important phrases: Because, and Therefore. Because we have a “great High Priest” who entered into the heavens on our behalf, we then therefore should hold firmly to the confession of our faith in Him. And this great High Priest actually comes alongside of us and empowers us to hold firmly to the saving truth of the Gospel.
