Don’t Shrink Back
Reflection on Hebrews 10:38–39
The Cliff
I used to love standing on the edge of a cliff.
Looking down at the water below… and jumping.
When I was younger, I didn’t hesitate when it came to jumping off cliffs into the water. In fact, I went looking for them. If there was a high rock overlooking the lake, I wanted to climb it. If there was a ledge that looked a little higher than the rest, that was the one I was drawn to.
My parents still tell the story of my birthday parties when I was little—I would climb right up the ladder and jump off the high dive without a second thought.
There was something about the rush of it. The moment of standing at the edge, the quick decision, and then the leap.
No hesitation.
No calculation.
Just jump.
These days I’m wired a little differently.
Life has a way of shifting how you think. I’m much more process-minded now. I tend to think through every possible outcome before taking a step. I consider the risks, the variables, and what could go wrong.
A few years ago I had the chance to jump off a cliff similar to the ones I used to jump from when I was younger. Same kind of setting. Same kind of height.
I climbed up.
Walked to the edge.
Looked down.
And I couldn’t do it.
The water below didn’t look as inviting as it once had. My mind immediately began calculating everything that could go wrong. The height felt taller. The landing felt less certain. And somewhere between standing there and staring over the edge, I realized something had changed.
I had more to lose now.
I climbed back down.
Later, I started to wonder if that same instinct had quietly made its way into parts of my spiritual life.
A Question That Stopped Me
That moment came back to mind recently as I was reading Hebrews 10. Toward the end of the chapter, the writer says something that stopped me in my tracks.
“But my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
Hebrews 10:38–39 (ESV)
When I read those words, a question surfaced in my heart:
In what areas of my spiritual life have I begun to shrink back?
Not walk away from God.
Not abandon my faith.
But quietly… subtly… shrink back.
When Faith Becomes Cautious
When many of us first come to faith in Christ, there is a kind of boldness that comes naturally.
We trust God quickly.
We step out in obedience.
We pray big prayers.
We talk about Jesus openly.
There’s a willingness to move forward even when we don’t fully understand what lies ahead.
But as the years pass, something often shifts.
Life adds responsibilities.
Experiences add caution.
Disappointments add hesitation.
We begin to calculate.
What if this doesn’t work?
What if this costs me something?
What if I step out and it doesn’t turn out the way I hoped?
And slowly, over time, faith can start to look less like movement and more like standing safely on the edge.
Many believers today aren’t walking away from faith—they’re just standing at the edge.
A Strategy of the Enemy
Recently I heard a statement on a podcast that really struck me.
One of the speakers said:
“The devil is really good at making believers question their salvation, and really good at making unbelievers confident in their unbelief.”
What a strategy.
If the enemy can get believers to doubt what Christ has already accomplished, it can paralyze their faith. And if he can convince unbelievers that they’re perfectly fine without God, they may never feel the urgency to seek Him.
Either way, faith stalls.
Living by Faith
The writer of Hebrews understood this tension. The entire letter is written to encourage believers not to drift backward into comfort or safety.
Faith, by its very nature, requires trust.
It requires movement.
That’s why the verse just before the famous “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 says this:
“But my righteous one shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 10:38
Faith has never been about certainty in outcomes. It has always been about trust in God.
Hebrews 11 continues the thought:
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1
Faith moves forward even when the full picture isn’t visible.
That’s why Abraham left his homeland without knowing where he was going.
That’s why Moses chose obedience over comfort.
That’s why countless others stepped forward when God called them.
They didn’t shrink back.
But We…
One of the most powerful lines in the passage is also one of the simplest.
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
Hebrews 10:39
I love those first two words:
But we.
The writer is reminding believers of their identity.
That’s not who we are.
Followers of Jesus are not defined by hesitation or retreat. We are people who trust God. We are people who move forward in obedience. We are people who believe that God is faithful even when the path ahead feels unclear.
A Question Worth Asking
Standing on that cliff years ago, I chose not to jump.
But the challenge of faith is different.
Spiritually speaking, many of us spend seasons standing at the edge of obedience—looking over, thinking through every possible outcome, waiting until everything feels completely safe.
But faith was never meant to keep us safely on the edge.
At some point, trust requires a step.
So here’s the question I’ve been sitting with lately:
Where have I begun to shrink back?
Where has caution quietly replaced trust?
Where has fear slowed down obedience?
Where might God be asking me to move forward again?
Scripture reminds us of who we are:
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
Hebrews 10:39
So wherever you may find yourself today, remember this:
Don’t shrink back.
Live by faith.
