Skip to main content

Finding a Different Viewpoint

                Walking up the path in the rain, we were not convinced that it was worth the hike.  Sara, the girls and I had spent a week in Oregon and we had seen a lot of waterfalls, so the thought of one more was not all that exciting, but we grit our teeth and kept going.
                Grit your teeth and keep going.  That must have been how the churches in the book of Revelation felt.  Seven churches, each facing different struggles, were told to hang on and keep trudging.  More specifically, Jesus tells each of them that they will win the prize if they overcome their circumstances, their own selfish desires and even Satan himself (Revelation 2:7; 11; 17; 26; 3:5; 12; 21).  This is good advice.  Life does not always go in logical, straight lines and what you need may be right around the corner, just out of sight.  Many blessings come after holding on and overcoming.  Sometimes you just have to keep going.
                Back to Oregon for a moment:  As we were trudging up the mountain, we met an older couple going back down.  When they saw us, their faces lit up and they said, “Oh the waterfall is beautiful!  Best one we have ever seen! You will love it!”   Suddenly, our attitudes changed.  Instead of trudging miserably along, we walked with anticipation.  At every corner, we sped up wondering if this was when the waterfall would come into view.      
                I have come to believe that hope and expectation are two of the most important attitudes that we can cultivate in our lives.  The belief that something good is coming changes the way we approach each day and every event that we face.  Especially for believers, life should not be a joyless struggle.  Rather, because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, our lives ought to be marked with joy, hope and anticipation!  
                To be sure, there will be times when you must put your head down and just keep going.  However, it is much easier to do so when you know that there is something beautiful waiting just around the corner.
 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider This: Who Needs Worship?

  Why does God need our worship? The events of Matthew 14 provide at least one answer.   This chapter starts with the beheading of John the Baptist (verses 1-12). This is the first in a series of events that indicate things are about to become much more difficult for the believers. Next, the scene shifts to a crowd gathered on a hillside in Galilee. After listening to Jesus teach all day, the apostles realized that these people had nothing to eat. They brought the problem to Jesus. He took a child’s lunch and fed the entire group of five thousand men plus women and children. Afterwards, they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers (verses 13-21).   Then Jesus told them to get in a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee. As they went, a storm arose, and the apostles were scared. They struggled along until Jesus came to them walking on the water. Peter tried walking on the water too and sank. After Jesus rescued Peter, they got into the boat, and the storm immediately s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Spiritual Makeover (1 Peter 1:13-16)

 Three responses to the new life God has given us.  https://youtu.be/FmqX5-3jOKc  
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Something to Hold On To

      If you have never stopped to see the Swinging Bridge in Souris, Manitoba, you should add it to your list of things to do. I like it. Others do not. It feels wobbly. It bounces up and down. I have seen people in the middle of the bridge holding on and screaming because it feels too unstable. Of course, there is nothing to fear. The bridge has huge anchors at each end and is secured by steel cables, but sometimes, our feelings make us forget the facts. Peter knows that his readers are about to face some scary situations. He does not want their feelings to obscure everything else, so he outlines three truths they need to remember. First, their hope is greater than their troubles. “For a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold… may be proved genuine and result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7). Not...
Post a Comment
Read more