No More!

"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

My church breaks up into small groups to pray for one another every Sunday. Normally, the first Sunday of the month is communion so we don't pray together because of the added time it takes in the service. This week we did both. One of my dear friends was weeping on Sunday as she relayed her prayer request (see my other blog for todays post on that). She is struggling with how her mom is doing with going on eighteen months of treatment for brain tumors.

During the message our pastor referenced Revelation 7:17 which says: "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." He was referring to the first part of the verse as he was talking about the significance of water. When I handed my friend my Bible so she could read the verse she only read the first part (as did our pastor). I handed it back to her and said, "Read the whole thing." Monday I sent her a note to see how all the doctor appointments and tests went. In her response she asked me to send her the reference to this verse as it really touched her that day.

Both of these verses in Revelation have been a source of comfort to me over the years. I've gone through many trying things in my life. It is a blessed assurance to know that when I am lifted to Heaven that the pain will be all over. The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a struggle for me as I force myself out of my comfort zone. My goal is to meet a couple of new people every day. Right now mostly for the purpose of stretching me so I don't feel so awkward when getting to the message of what my business purpose is when I'm talking with people. (That was a truly spectacular sentence!) I am happy to report that the struggles I am having now don't even remotely compare to the struggles I've gone through in my life.

As child of the King, I am encouraged to know He has a plan for me. He has a plan for my friend and for her mom. He has a plan for you as well. Where do you find yourself in tears? Look expectantantly to what that plan is for you. Know that in your times of struggle you are going to come out if it a stronger person when you continue to look to Him. By staying in His Word, in fellowship with other believers and in worship both privately and corporately He will bring you what you need now.

Resting in the peace of knowing Who holds tomorrow.