“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain,
for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
Heavenly Father, help us walk through the hard things in this life with the hope you’ve given us for the next. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:25-34
Some wise words from Anne Graham Lotz.
“For you are all sons (those who inherit) of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Galatians 3:26, 4:6-7
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:58
There are times when the Lord allows us to see the fruits of our labor in Him, but there will also be periods of time when we see no immediate outcome from our service to the Lord, and we might be temped to fall into despair.
Paul reminds us, as he reminded the church in Corinth, that our labor – our toil, our pains, our trouble, our weariness – in the Lord is not in vain.
We know because when we work in the Lord, abiding in Christ through prayer, obedience, walking in the Spirit, adhering to the truth, we have faith that God is working in and through us.
And the work the Lord does, no one can tear down.
Though we don’t always see its fruit, the Lord does. He is doing things in the hearts and minds of others we will never see until we’re before the King, our work withstands the fire, and we receive a reward.
So if something, or someone, is trying to move you, to discourage you, to lie and make you believe your work in the Lord is in vain, stand fast. Stand on the immoveable Rock that is Christ and in His promises, and let Him lead you on to victory.
Yes, it’s good to read God’s Word. Yes, it’s good to receive it into our hearts, to think on its wisdom, to love its statutes, its precepts, its commandments, its decrees, its principles, and especially the God who gave them.
Then, as we allow them to take root in our hearts and grow as we put them into practice, live our lives by them, walking with Him by faith, the seeds of sin will be choked out and its shame and guilt with them, leaving room for the full bloom of the peace of God.
