Thoughts on Heaven - again

There are times I become so disheartened by life in general that I simply want to leave.  Then I have to stop and think about the fact that if God hasn't taken me home, then He must have a very good reason for my staying here.  Just because I cannot see the reason doesn't mean it doesn't exist. 

I have written and taught many times about Heaven and my longings for it.  I have also told of how fun it is to imagine Heaven as it is described in Scripture, not as depicted on TV, radio, in storybooks, some songs or even in some sermons.  We have been fed many stories about Heaven that make it sound (if we are honest) boring.  Once I started studying what the Scriptures really had to say regarding this magnificent place, I began to long for my future home in ways I never had before.  As a matter of fact, I remember when I was engaged thinking thoughts like, "Can You please wait until we've been married a little while?" I wanted to experience life to what I considered the fullest. Little did I know.... In my heart of hearts, thinking back, I really thought my life with Michael would be much more fun and interesting than Heaven could possibly be.  "After all, aren't we just going to stand around all day and night singing praises?" 
The funny thing is, this probably isn't nearly as negative a thought for me as it is for the majority of the world of Christians, because I absolutely adore singing praises.  Other songs can be fun, but singing praises brings me to new heights of wonder like nothing else can, except studying God's Word and prayer.  Okay, singing praises can be a form of prayer and is for me, but that is beside the point.  Actually, the Bible says that there are some angelic beings that surround the throne and never cease singing God's praises day or night, but angels are not human beings.  (Angels were created before human beings and we do not become angels upon death, but that is for another time.)  These angels do this out of sheer joy and awe at the magnificence of God, but not all angels are involved, only those mentioned.
My husband, on the other hand, takes no real joy in singing.  He sings praises, but gets more from the actual music than the words.  He is a true instrumental musician at heart.  I play anything in the flute family, but that is my limitation.  He finds it fairly easy to pick up any instrument up and learn to play it, minus flute because his hands are so large.  His main instrument is trumpet.  I only say that because there are those who think that if we aren't singing, we will be playing instruments of praise.  Trumpets, flutes, tambourines, cymbals, and lyres (or harps) are all mentioned as instruments in Heaven.  Nice for us, but anyone who doesn't play an instrument says, BORING!   But don't worry, there is nothing in Scripture that says everyone willing be playing an instrument either. 

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

God is going to make the earth new and join His dwelling place with ours as a husband is joined to his wife.  This is why Christianity is compared so heavily with marriage.  Just as a husbands desires to be joined with his wife, God desires to be joined with us again as He was in the Garden at creation, but no more will we be tempted to sin!  Why?  He will constantly be in our presence, not only spiritually as He is now, but physically!!  We will truly understand all He did for us at Calvary and be so grateful that sin will be utterly repugnant to us.  There is nothing more exciting than this thought!! 

There is so much to glean from the comparison of Christianity to marriage.  The longing to be together, to share every detail of every day with each other, to see the humor and excitement in the others eyes as we tell them of our day, to actually be listened to intently, the joy of embrace or a simple touch of the hand, the amazement that you can be loved so deeply by someone, the learning and growing we do in the process and so much more - these are what Heaven is truly like!!  There is no boredom involved!!  We will constantly be getting to know God more thoroughly.  He is infinite.  We are finite.  Therefore there will be an infinite amount of things for us to learn about Him.  For all eternity we will be experiencing something new and exciting!!  Mountains to climb, caves to explore, things I've always dreamed of doing, but never had the means to do so!!  I can't wait!!  But I will.

If you want to know more, read Heaven, by Randy Alcorn or Heaven: Your Real Home, by Joni Earickson Tada and compare them to Scripture.  I am ever so grateful to have done so and you will be too.

Learning Through Suffering

Evil and suffering happen, not because God desires us to suffer and yet, because He allows it.  There are many Christians and non-believers out there who feel there should never be suffering of any kind.  The Christian feels that if we simply have enough faith, it will go away.  I started to believe this once  myself.  Then I began getting into Scripture and discovered that it simply isn't true.  God allows suffering for several reasons, the greatest one being that He loves us more than we can begin to imagine.  When we trust in doctrine rather than God, our faith in that doctrine, not our faith in God, is what should suffer when things go wrong.

Michael and I were blessed with three children.  Each of them has been tested and has an IQ within the genius range.  To my knowledge, my husband has never had an IQ test, but suffice it to say, I have no doubt he is in the genius range as well.  He is able to figure things without having the education supposedly required, where those who have could not.  This tells me he is extremely smart.  Have you ever tried living in a house full of geniuses?  Talk about strong wills!  It was my responsibility as mom and primary care giver (I was a stay at home mom until they all were in school and then I went to work at their school) to make certain our children grew up into well respected, well behaved and most of all God fearing adults.  I did not, and still do not, want them to suffer.  But you know what?  There were times I caused them to suffer!!  When they looked at me with that smug "I'm smarter than you" expression and set out to directly defy me?  Yeah, they suffered, albeit for a very SHORT time.  There were times my frustration would be so great, I had to go lock myself in my bedroom for a few moments and pray for wisdom and patience before serving discipline, because I didn't want to give in to anger.  Sometimes they received three swats.  Sometimes they were sent to bed for a while.  Sometimes they had to give up something they really wanted to do desperately.  Sometimes they had a toy, or video games or telephone privileges taken away.  The worst was when they were grounded to each other.  I wasn't just a mean old mom then.  I was the enemy!  Of course, they didn't realize this was what I wanted, because it caused them to unite.  The only times they were grounded to each other was when they were fighting and refused to compromise.  After having only each other to play with for three or four days, they were having a marvelous time together as they griped about me!   They are great friends to this day and I pray always will be.  They get angry with each other, but they always reunite.  So their railing against me (and their dad, as he always backed me to the hilt) was well worth it.

God  loves us so much more than we do our children.  Because of this,  He desires our very best and sometimes that involves suffering - and yes, in comparison to eternity, it is for a VERY short time.  Even those times when there are masses involved in the suffering, such as a tornado or earthquake; perhaps those are times God has allowed so that His children will band together, even at the expense of calling Him mean and the world calling Him enemy.  It is at those times that we put forth our greatest effort to unite to reach the lost and minister to the needy, is it not?  When there is little going on regarding suffering, we tend to become lethargic. 
And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.  II Timothy 3:12

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.  Hebrews 12:6 So, if I ever STOP suffering discipline, that will be the time to fret!!  "We should see our suffering as God keeping His promises, not violating them."  (Randy Alcorn)  

God promises to love us, so He teaches us through suffering, evil, blessings, creation and every other opportunity that presents itself.  The great thing is -  we have another of His promises: We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28  We have all eternity to enjoy no suffering or evil.  The short time we do experience it, we need to learn all we can from it and serve Him to the utmost through it.

Gratuitous Suffering?

Is there any such thing as gratuitous suffering or evil?  Since God is the One and only Alpha and Omega, He is the only One who could say whether there is or not.  To think we could presume to know the beginning from the end of our existence on this earth is pretty amazing.  We would have to in order to say that there is such a thing. 
The definition given by Webster for gratuitous is: 

1. Uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted.
2. Given or done free of charge.

The definition itself determines that there can be no such thing.  Why?  Because we, according to Romans 6:23, are deserving of nothing short of eternal death - not ceasing to exist, but eternally dying.  There is only one person that never sinned and that is because he was not only 100% human, but was also 100% God, and that person is Jesus Christ, who gave his life so we wouldn't have to die eternally, but could spend it instead with Him and his Father God, be gifted with his Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation and begin eternity while still in our sinful flesh.
I am not saying that God causes suffering and evil because of our sinful nature.  Rather I am saying that suffering and evil came into existence due to our choice to heed Satan, believe his lies and serve him at the fall.  When Adam (male and female) chose disobedience to God's instruction, they gave Satan their birthright - authority over the world and its contents. 
Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground." Genesis 1:26
Therefore, the world came under the curse as well as us and we are the ones who placed it there.  We need to take responsibility for our actions and admit that we inherited sin nature, have listened to and obeyed it more than frequently and then repent-

1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.

2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.

3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.

and seek God's forgiveness.  We also need to accept His free gift of salvation through the blood sacrifice of Jesus' life for ours and desire to follow Him.  When we do so, we are placing our lives back under God's control and we gain back the authority that we threw so willingly to the wind.

(Jesus said) "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

We have allowed suffering and evil, and there is a part of us deep inside that knows this, hates the fact and wants to be rid of it so badly that we blame it on the one who offers us the answer - God himself.  Christians are every bit as guilty of doing this at times as the rest of the world.  We get angry with God for not doing things our way, as if we have the all-knowing wisdom needed to run this world.

I pray for wisdom and understanding for all God's true children, that they might come to understand the depth, width and height of his love for us and begin to walk in it, rather than walking in distrust any longer.

 

Treasure in Heaven

^{I Timothy
17} Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Matthew 6
¹⁹  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (spoken by Jesus)

As I read an article regarding a pastor's thoughts regarding the passage in Matthew, I realized he was simply making comparison statements of what others thought, neither indicating agreement nor disagreement.  Then something sparked inside me and made me become very attentive inwardly.  That warm feeling you get when you know the Lord is speaking directly to your heart and you need to listen came over me.

My heart had questioned, "Just what are these treasures in heaven?  (Besides crowns)

 

• Crown of Righteousness 2 Tim. 4:8 To all who have kept the faith and longed and loved for His return
• Crown of Rejoicing 1Thes. 2:19 To all who have helped bring others to Christ
• Crown of Life James 1:12 To all who endure temptation & are faithful through trials and to those that love Him
• Crown of glory 1 Peter 5:1-4  To all that serve and shepherd God’s people
• The imperishable or eternal crown 1 Cor. 9:25 To those who have had self-control in all things and subdued the old sinful nature.

We evidently have a storehouse of some sort in heaven, or Jesus would not have spoken of it.  These rewards just well may be more than I had ever really considered before.  It always amazes me that God can speak to our heart without using actual words.
It hit me that I suddenly was understanding a portion of this storehouse that I hadn't before.  True treasure is found in Jesus, so the more we get to know Him, the greater the reward.  (That part I knew.)  Our storehouse fills up with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  As it fills we have it to make "withdrawals" from when needed.  The catch is, if we are not filling our storehouse, we will not have anything to spare. 

How do we fill it?  By partaking of the fruit given us by the Spirit at salvation.  It's there, we just have to put it to use.  If we do not, it doesn't grow.  I now wonder if this is what Jesus was talking about with the master giving talents parable.  When we invest our time and energy in service, our fruit is multiplied, just as planting, watering, and caring for fruit trees produces more fruit than planting and forgetting about it. 

Look at the parable of the fig tree.  If it doesn't produce fruit, it withers away.  There are many withering people out there.  They want to go to heaven, but they don't want to follow Jesus.  We cannot have it both ways.  Following Jesus isn't easy, neither is it difficult once you do it a while.  As a matter of fact, the more you do it, the more you want to do it.  If we could simply remember the simple statement Jesus gave us to help us on our way: You reap what you sow.  So may we sow the Fruit of the Spirit and reap it in harvest and have a storehouse running over!!

Blessed Are....

As I spoke with my neighbor yesterday, I made the comment that when I think about watching my Momma and my husband's mom getting seemingly weaker as each day passes, I get very weak inside and grieve.  It is then that I must look up to Father God and cry out for help just to get the things I need to accomplish finished.  Later the same day I was talking with one of my sisters.  She reminded me that we have eternity with them and it brought a smile to my face.  I admitted to her that I found letting family in Christ go was easier than watching them suffer in the transition.  She agreed.  Knowing that our moms will spend eternity with Christ doesn't make the suffering here any easier to bear, but it does make the thought of its eternal reward quite joyous and even brings a sigh of relief to my spirit man.
Lest anyone get the idea that either of us wishes them gone, that is not anywhere near the case.  Our selfish side wants them to remain here with us as long as we can possibly have them.  I know that I feel I still need their advice and wisdom to guide me and probably always will.  We were simply in agreement that, though it brings us heavy grief and longing for them when they are gone,  we know they will be healthy and happy and no longer in any kind of pain as they wait for us to join them, because they too are children of the King. 

Trusting Christ doesn't mean we suffer less.  A simple quote found on page 365 of If God Is Good.....Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil.  It is almost humorous to me that this statement even need be written.  When studying the things Jesus had to say to us regarding suffering, it almost appears to me that we are promised more.  The beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-10 seem to me to make it pretty clear:

The Beatitudes

He said:
³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

vs.3 - Here, "poor" is translated from ptochos, which literally means "to crouch or cower as one helpless." It signifies the beggar, the pauper, one in abject poverty, totally dependent on others for help and destitute of even the necessities of life. (Bible Tools)

vs.4 - we mourn many things, including our personal losses, losses of those around us, world-wide losses such as those in a hurricane, sin in our lives and those we love and the list goes on.  We don't have more to grieve, we simply recognize more of the things that needing grieving over.

vs.5 - Meekness is patience in the reception of injuries, the reception of injuries with a belief that God will vindicate us, and produces peace.  (Barnes notes on the Bible)

vs.6 - The more we get to know Him, the more we want of Him, so our hunger and thirst grows in direct proportion to how much we are fed by Him.  In order to be fed we must want to be and cry out to Him as a baby bird cries to its mother.  They do not stop until they are satisfied.  As they grow, they need more and cry louder still.  This should be us.

vs.7 - In order to give mercy, we must have received a wrong. 

vs.8 - Being pure in heart is a daily battle, where fears, pride, prejudices, anger, jealousies and more all try to rush in not even daily, but moment by moment.

vs.9 - If we are to be peacemakers, we must be in the middle of the battle.  Those who sit on the outskirts are ignored.  It is the one who jumps in the middle, refuses to be ruffled, is willing to give their all that is listened to, but sometimes it means literally giving our all in order to be truly heard.

vs.10 - Persecuted - this is the one we try so very hard to hide from.  We don't want ridicule, hatred, lies told about us, injury or any other form of physical, mental or spiritual anguish.  We try to avoid it at all costs, yet hasn't Jesus made it clear in all the above verses that we will suffer in one way or another?  So why not for righteousness?

With all these marvelous promises of suffering, why would anyone choose Jesus?  Because He didn't stop with the pain of suffering.  We may have temporary pain and suffering now, but all of it works toward our spiritual growth, maturing and ends with our receiving the greatest gift of all - eternity with Him!!  When we look closely at each verse we see the promise of eternity in every situation.  The kingdom of heaven is ours now - in our spirits - and for all eternity.  Comfort, satisfaction, mercy, a name (each of His children is given one), heaven and earth are ours forever as they shall become one in perfect unity and we shall dwell in them AND best of all, WE WILL SEE GOD!!  This promise of seeing God is not simply futuristic, though its completion is. We get to see Him now through the eyes and actions of brothers and sisters in Christ, the miracles we witness on a daily basis (though I am convinced we overlook the majority of them), in creation and in our very own lives as He works to do His will in us.

There is an old song that asks the question, "Why do you serve the Lord?  Is it just for heavens gain or to walk those mighty streets of gold, or to hear the angels sing?  Is it just to drink from the fountain that never runs dry, or just to live forever, ever and ever in that sweet by and by?"  I absolutely love the answer, because it is so extremely true: "But if heaven never were promised to me, neither God's promise to live eternally, it's been worth just having the Lord in my life.  I was living in a world of darkness and He brought me the light.  You know He's been my closest Friend down through the years, and when I cry He dries all my tears.  Yes, it's been worth just having the Lord in my life, cause I was living in a world of darkness and he brought me the light."

Jesus is the Light that opens our eyes to see the suffering that we had overlooked before, gives us a heart that cries out to Him for help for each situation, helps us see our own hurt and need and delivers us from the evil that would consume us in grief, destroy us in anguish and despair and delivers us hope and victory.  The wonder of it all is that He didn't stop there.  He could have, but He loved us so much that He also offers us eternal life with Him.  He will not force us to choose life, but He does cry out for us to do so.

Well, Shut My Mouth!!

" God never tells Job to shut his mouth; but after seeing God's greatness, Job realizes he must."  (Randy Alcorn-If God is Good)

There was a time, not so long ago and yet ages ago, that I was giving God a diatribe on why He should speak to Michael about being so messy.  "He shouldn't make a trail when coming home from work by dropping a sock, then another, then his pants, then his shirt on down to his underwear as he walked into the bathroom for a shower.  I then had to pick up each item and reclean the floors due to the mud that was inevitably encrusted on each item."

 

That was over 30 years ago, but I remember the conversation well.  As I walked into the middle bedroom and began cleaning. God gently spoke these words to my heart: "Michael gave his life for you."  He didn't have to say anything more.  My mouth had to shut.  I had been so VERY wrong.  

 

Michael had given up his dream of playing in the Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass band, an around the world trip with the youth national band (I cannot remember the name of the group, but he had been chosen for it and it was an extremely great honor) and was now working in a position that required (and still requires) him to work with water in sub-zero temperatures in winter, dig deep holes by hand in above 100 degree temperatures in the summer, trust the electric, phone, sewer, cable and gas companies to mark their lines correctly so that he doesn't strike one and become injured or killed, work in  pouring rain, sleet and even hail, etc.  and he was doing it all so that he could have me as his wife!  I was and am not worth it.  Who is?  Yet here he was and is doing so virtually every day of his life.  As I write this he is working another water main break.  He worked all day yesterday, got two and a half hours sleep before getting called in to work, got home at 7:30 am just as the phone rang with another call to work another break.  This is the one he is working on now.  (Let it be known that Michael no longer drops clothing around the house, but is very careful to place them in the hamper.  He does laundry, cleans the kitchen, scrubs the shower, takes care of the trash and vacuums as well, and I didn't have to ask him to do any of it.  One day he simply took them over, but that is another story for another day, perhaps.)
 

When he left, I was feeling sorry for myself that he had to go yet again.  I should know better.  All that does is makes him feel badly that he has to go.  He called me after checking things out to say that it indeed was another main break, but that it was already marked by the other utilities, so they could start right away and he hoped to be done by 11:30 so he could take me shopping !!  I wanted to cry!!  I am ashamed to have made him feel the need to tell me this.  I don't care about the shopping, I just miss him!  So, I sat down and spoke to God about it.  I type many of my prayers and this is what I wrote:
"So, Lord, I started this morning off by feeling sorry for myself and for Michael. Forgive me and help me learn to trust You more. When You said that the woman would crave her husband, You really meant we would simply crave him personally, didn't You? .... it is the simple thing of being with him, talking with him, sharing occurrences with him, laughing and crying and holding him...these are the things I crave most. When I am in his arms, the world fades away, just as You meant it to. I cannot thank You enough for allowing me to experience this. I know the reason for this experience is to give me a foretaste of eternity with You. I cannot fathom why anyone would want less!!"

 

I really enjoyed this analogy:   "Ignorant beings often feel unhappy and confused because of decisions made by wiser and more powerful beings.  Like my (Randy Alcorn) dog Moses thinks I don't "get it" when I hush him late at night.  I'm cruel when I refuse to let him eat the steak he smells.  Of course, he has no idea that his barking wakes up the neighbors, or that a whole steak wouldn't be good for him (he had one once, so this is not a theory), or that there are beings more important than he (perish the thought).  Given his world view, he may feel certain I am not demonstrating goodness and love.  But Moses is simply not in a position to grasp my reasons.  They transcend his understanding." 

 

Moses and I are a lot alike.  We have difficulty fully grasping this verse:

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."  Romans 8:28

This verse has been misunderstood and even taught incorrectly by many.  It isn't that God turns everything into good, but rather that He makes them work together like a jigsaw puzzle or a tapestry to become a beautiful piece of artwork for our good.  It may take years before we can see the big picture, or it may even take until eternity for us to grasp even a small portion of it, but we can rest assured that God always, always, ALWAYS keeps His promises.

Overcoming Weariness

Let us not become weary  in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

Somehow I have always divided this verse up in my mind without even realizing it.  Perhaps you have done the same.  Whenever there has been much work I need to accomplish, I have thought about the "Let us not grow weary" portion.  On days like last Sunday when no one showed up for Sunday School, I think of the other half.  Today as I studied, they were finally made into a complete thought in my reasoning.  Amazing how that happens.  I have been reading and memorizing verses such as this for the vast majority of my life, yet each day I can learn something new.

As I read this verse and others that go along with it (Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.  Galatians 6:7, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.   II Corinthians 9:6) and a few others, I started thinking about this past year's garden.  There were several opportunities for our garden to have been ruined and non-productive.  Michael could have decided it was too much work to cultivate the garden area.  I could have allowed the weeds to take over and rocks to remain embedded in the soil.  Michael could have decided it was too costly to water twice a day and I could have easily decided that it was too hot and dry to harvest.  Because we fought against such thoughts and made ourselves suffer the aggravation of hard work, we yielded quite a large crop of vegetables. 

There are times in every person who gardens life when they wonder if it is worth the effort until the day that first flower blooms in full array, or that first green bean plant pokes its head above ground.  Suddenly rejoicing takes place!!  Then another time comes when the flower fades and needs trimming so it can bloom again.  We have to remind ourselves that the reward will come if we do the work.  As for green beans, we have to pick and replant in order to get the full harvest.  Is it worth it?  It depends on your point of view.  Perhaps you hate gardening.  Then you need to think of something you love to put it into perspective.  Do you love playing a musical instrument?  It takes hours upon hours of work to be able to do so, yet if you love it, somehow that's okay.  Do you love your children?  Think of the work that went into bringing them into this world.  The hours of labor and pain, but when you see those little fists and toes and that tiny wrinkled face, you fall in love and the pain is much more than worth it.  However, that's not the end of the work.  Do you want your child to grow up knowing right from wrong?  There is another huge job waiting, but when they grow into godly men and women whose sole delight is to serve the Father, the work is more than worth it.  There are many more comparisons I could make, but you get the idea.

So from now on I see this verse as one complete thought.  In my heart it will read something like this: Don't allow yourself to give in to weariness, because when the time is right you will reap a harvest - IF you don't give up.

As Christians it is easy to become weary.  We are constantly bombarded with negative news, negative thoughts, negative actions of those around us, and work seems to pile up no matter how much effort we put forth.  The world screams at us as Job's so-called friends did to him, "Give up!!  You're fighting a losing battle!"  and sometimes the temptation is so great, we almost do.  But then God will remind us of the coming harvest and we can hang in there.  We must remember all we have to look forward to and be grateful that we have the opportunity to do so.  God could have handed out justice immediately and wiped mankind out long ago, as He proved at the great flood.  But His mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness to His promises.  So He does not grow weary in doing good, even to the part of creation that continually turns their backs on Him.  He keeps going because, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  II Peter 3:9

Sing praises to the Lord Most High!  He has delivered us from the powers of evil and set us on the high places.  He renews our strength and helps us to soar as the eagle!!  He waits patiently for our repentance.  He grieves over those who reject him and die in in their sins.  He rejoices over every one that comes to receive His free gift of salvation AND He never grows weary!!  Praise the Lord!!