Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luke 6:23)
Each morning, I thank God for saving me! I thank him for the wonderful opportunity he has given me to share his love with the world. No, my life is not a bowl of cherries. But again, it is not all pain and misery. It is, at times, not the "life" I would like it to be (I'm human, I have wants). There are challenges and obstacles that I'd rather not face. There are mountains I'd prefer not to move.
One day, and none of us knows for certain what day that will be, all of the suffering and desperation we face each day will melt away into the face of one more beautiful than anyone we have ever seen or ever imagined! One day we will rise without pain, walk without needing rest and sing in perfect pitch and harmony. One day we leap for joy and receive our inheritance! One day we will see peace! Sometimes the strength we need comes from knowing that this is not our home. Sometimes its knowing that there is a better place with a loving Father waiting to take us in and celebrate his joy that we have come home.
I sat yesterday and watched the leafless trees swaying in the breeze. I was awestruck when I realized that they were singing to their maker! Each branch, no matter where it's roots are planted, reaches toward the light. They reach up towards the heavens to where God is! This morning a noticed a solitary bud on a daffodil (my favorite by the way). It's laid dormant all winter and has come back to offer it's sweet smell and beauty to the world and to God.
All that we do on earth is seen. Our thoughts and our actions, though unnoticed by many, are not missed even among the flowers that bloom and the birds that sing. From the simplest to the greatest, our God sees it all. Every element in nature answers to him. Every raindrop that falls, does so at his command. His power is beyond that which we can comprehend, as is his love for us.
Do not allow that which is not from his hand disrupt your life. Do not let the temptations of the enemy take your eyes off the King. Keep focused on his blessings, knowing that the pain you suffer here, the rains that pour down, the sleepless nights, and the emptiness you feel just may be his mercies in disguise!!!
(photo by Sandra Wood)
