Posted on Wednesday, November 7, 2007                                               by Allison J

"What Do You Want Me To Do For You?"

“Then they came to Jericho.  As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”  So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up!  On your feet!  He's calling you.”  Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.  “What do you want me to do for you?”  Jesus asked him.  The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.”  Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road” (Mark 10:46-52).

When I read this account last week, the offbeat nature of Jesus’ question to Bartimaeus almost made me laugh.  How ridiculous!  What do you think a blind man would want?!  As the humor of it struck me, I kept asking myself, “Why did Jesus inquire as to what Bartimaeus wanted?  What does that mean?”

Asking questions is so important because it gives the listener direction.  In this account, Bartimaeus calls Jesus “Rabbi,” meaning “teacher.”  If we pay careful attention to how Jesus teaches in the Gospels, we note several things.  Christ made no exception of persons, He used words which all men could understand, He illustrated what he taught in a practical and applicable matter, but most of all, He loved to ask questions.  As a teacher, I see education not as a monologue, but as a conversation between teacher and student.  Questions within a conversation motivate us to learn and search for specific answers.

I am more than sure that Jesus knew what Bartimaeus desired, and I am pretty sure that with His cries, the entire crowd knew that Bartimaeus was fully aware of Who Jesus was and of His power, but Jesus struck up a dialogue.  By inquiring with Bartimaeus, Christ shows us that not only must we believe, but believe AND put that grain of faith into action by confessing it.  “It is with your heart that you believe and are justified,” but it does not stop there, for “it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:10).  It’s kind of like a dream.  A dream will always remain a happy thought of the imagination if nothing is done about it.  A dream—a vision, a desire—needs to be articulated, passionately fueled, and then driven to completion to be effective.  Faith without action has no legs, and will therefore not get very far.  I’m sure that Bartimaeus’ faith was a source of hope and of much encouragement to him, but if his faith had been without action when Jesus had asked Him what he desired, then a great opportunity would have passed by unnoticed.  To transform a dream, you have to clarify it, and by questioning Bartimaeus, that is exactly what Jesus did.    

Ultimately, I love how the question doesn’t center on Bartimaeus’ ailment, but on the perfect power of the One who can heal all.  Remember that small grain of faith?  Faith isn’t fretting over the mountain, it’s about living in the mindset of “the mountain that has already been moved.”  God never forces Himself, but He is always there ready to give us of Himself and transform our sin-sick souls if we just reach out and say “we need You, today.”

   Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2007                                            by Allison J

A Few Simple Words

Some days are good days and some days are bad days.  Don’t you ever wish you could pick which were which?  Joy is a real thing, but so is uncertainty, sadness and the stark reality of life’s situations.  Have you ever had one of those days when you ask, “Why me?” or “Why this?”  Have you ever had one of those days when you think just that, and then someone comes along, reaches out and reminds you, often just by being themselves, that you have great reason to smile?  I’ve had those days.  

Days when I’ve been reminded that I’ve been redeemed and that despite whatever discouragement I might be facing, there is One “who knows my deepest cares.”  Days that others by their quiet spirits and reassuring words have reminded me that God has opened doors, broken down walls, and caught every one of my tears.  Days when vibrant friends remind me that the God who made creation made some room for me too! 

As believers, we have the greatest encouragement: “But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.  I've called your name.  You're mine.  When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.  When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.  When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end—Because I am God, your God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.  I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!  That's how much you mean to me!  That's how much I love you!  I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you”  (Isaiah 43:1-4 /Message).  Paul reiterates the same thing in 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9, highlighting the fact that the Christian life is not void of troubles, but that we hold a hope and have access to a grace that those who don’t know the Lord can’t experience.

We don’t know what others struggle with, face or overcome, but we do know that we can reach out.  This is not a matter of concession—of sighing and folding our hands.  The difference that can be made in the life of someone by a few words is phenomenal and powerful.  Every day we encounter people in need of affirmation, hope, support, healing, accountability, etc.  Take the time to smile at someone and mean it—to spend that coffee break or personal lunchtime speaking to someone.  People are not looking for a well-versed phrase or fancy prose—they are looking for sincerity.  There are quirks of life that often lack immediate explanation, and sometimes that means approaching someone even when you know you don’t have any definite answer, however, an earnest word to let someone know that “all things work together for good to them that love Him” means so much more.  And imagine, not all hold the same hope that believers do, and if we are so often grateful for the instruments the Lord uses to send encouragement our way, how much more one who has yet to experience such unspeakable joy?  Don’t look back when you’re down the road, only to see a string of missed opportunities, maybe even those opportunities to have at least planted a seed in someone’s heart.  Who knows what you could do with just a few simple words.

   Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007                                                        by Allison J

Formula to be Different: Standing Tall On Our Knees

A month ago (June 11^th), Chris posted something that challenged me.  His post was punctuated by the charge “we have to make more of a difference as young people.”  In my own spiritual walk as a young person and in working with young people, I have become saddened at how diluted our devotion has become.  As I read Chris’ charge, I was convicted by it and it was greater affirmed that our youth is a powerful thing that we should not take lightly, and second, that in order to make a difference, we must first be different.

1 Timothy 4:12 commands, “Let no man despise thy youth….”  Adolescents can cause a greater shift in change than they think.  It would take me days to further divulge on that, but that’s pretty much the bottom line, and the mainstream culture knows that if they have a hold of the youth, they have a hold on everything.  Our culture has low expectations of its youth, but we cannot afford to stick to those expectations and embrace the pathetic yet alluring and maddening mold.  To make a difference, we must be different.  The second part of 1 Timothy 4:12 reads, “…but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”  When I say that we must be different, I’m not talking about walking around with this “holier-than-thou” attitude.  In no way are we better than unbelievers are.  I love a point that one of my favorite preacher’s makes.  He asks, “How many of you know that just because you are a Christian that it does not mean that you no longer sin?”  I love how he drives the point that we have been set free from the law of sin and death—we change, but the nature of sin itself does not change after we are saved.  We cannot transform sin and make it acceptable to God.  I too am grateful that he asserts, that although sin still resides in us, we are not better than others, but rather, we are better than we deserve because a power that is greater than our sin also now lives in us.  And I am also so grateful that despite us, God remains God.  He is Sovereign will not fall out of heaven based on our walk with Him.  There is capacity for error in us, but none in the Word of God.  So, what does it tell us?  “…God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).  “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).  Being different is about evidence of Him taking up residency in our lives.  As young people, we have goals, ambitions, passions and desires.  But the problem does not lie in us seeking pleasure—God specifically wired us in His image for pleasure.  The problem lies in seeking all those things in the wrong places and at the wrong times.  We miss the abundant life that God offers us and trade it in for something less—something short term with long term consequences.  Jeremiah 2:13 cries, “For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” 

If we're honest with ourselves, what is our concept of being different?  How does that dictate the way we live our lives?  Do we find pleasure in God, or does what the world have to offer seem more exciting to us?  The apostle Paul says that we are to “throw off everything that hinders” us from “showing forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.”  Reemphasizing Chris’ post, he said: “In our short time on this earth we have an obligation.  We could walk out the door tomorrow, and drop dead.  Then what?  The only things that will have mattered will be our personal walk with God, and what we've done for him.”  To sum it up, a dear friend of mine put it right when she said that everything else is optional, but protecting our fellowship with God is not. 

I’m not saying that it’s easy to be different.  “There is no shortcut to any place worth going” (Sills).  Reading it is simple.  It really is simple, but it most definitely is not easy.  It’s like losing weight: exercise and minimize portions.  Simple, right?  Dying to ourselves, putting on the new man, and setting our affections on things above is not easy.  However, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that refusal to do so makes us miserable.  There is no genuine fulfillment in the things of the flesh.  We must “count all things loss that we might gain Christ.”  How do we get to this simple yet not easy aim?  By “standing tall on our knees.”  Go to Him in prayer and take hold of Christ’s victory!  It’s not an overnight thing, and we might stumble along the way, but don’t overwhelm yourself.  I’m definitely preaching to the choir here!  I know that in my own life, I have a desire to conform more to the image of Christ, but so many areas are not in line with the Lord.  The Lord knows our hearts, and if our hearts’ sincere cry is to experience the power of His grace in us, then He will not be idle.  Malachi 4:2 reads, “But unto you who revere and worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings….”  The launch pad for being different is through a sincere prayer—acknowledging our weakness, acknowledging the bumpy ride to get there, and acknowledging that with God all things are possible.  As a side note, we’re not godly for the things that we don’t do.  We might not do a lot, but our heart might still not be in the right place.  Godliness comes from spending time with God.  Back to the basics!  Back to getting on our knees so He can help up us to stand tall in Him!  As we get to our knees and believe, exercise our faith, He will start a work in us.  Faith trusts the One who is leading, knowing that those who come to God must believe that “He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,” for our spiritual senses can discern between what can give us temporary satisfaction and eternal fulfillment.  We are sanctified and cleansed by faith, because the One in whom we have believed in is Truth, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.  Again, it won’t be overnight, but it will be worth it. 

C.S. Lewis’ observation is worth hearing.  He said, “How little people know who think holiness is dull.  When one meets the real thing . . . it is irresistible.”  As we draw nearer to the Lord in prayer may we better learn how to make the Maker the Master of our lives.  May we find fullness of joy in learning how to stand tall in Him…on our knees.

   Posted on Wednesday, June 6, 2007                                                         by Allison J

Slow to Speak

“Scripture exhorts us to be “swift to hear” and “slow to speak” (James 1:19).  Vivid metaphors are used in the Book of Proverbs, such as “apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11) and “a well of life” (Proverbs 10:11), to describe the blessing of lips and conversations that “minister grace unto the hearers.” 

Countless other Scripture references only help to further affirm that God places a significant weight on our choice of words and manner of conversation—why else did the Psalmist proclaim: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14)!

The more we comprehend how much Christ loved us, the fact that all men are made in the image of the Creator, and the reason that He came to save us:  that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly—then we will come to a greater awareness of the “why” and “how” of our words.

Every word of God serves a purpose.  To think of the countless idle words that have left my mouth, and of the heart that did not stop to look at Gethsemane to gather grace to refrain from idle thoughts that were formed into words is weighty.  I am reminded of the words and the challenge that I heard at a chapel service at school not too long ago—that my heart’s daily cry should begin and should be: “Lord, I know you love me—I want to love you back.”  If I daily seek to be “rooted and grounded” in that love, then its outward expression will set itself right, one of those expressions being words.

It is amazing how the course of life can change by the simple choice of a word—by the use of the tongue.  The mischief of that “unruly evil” can brew chaos in its worst forms, and yet when the helm of that steamer of verbosity is directed properly, it blesses immeasurably.  I know that I have seen that to be too true, but if the love of God truly kindles in my heart, it should constrain me to refrain from letting my tongue run untamed, and experience conviction when it does.

Psalm 63:3 has been a verse that has ministered a lot to me lately, and came back to mind with new application when reading the admonition given by James on guarding our tongue.  The verse reads, “Because your love is better than life, my lips will praise you.”  God’s love never ceases to leave me in awe of Him—my lips should be busy praising Him for those blessings often overlooked, that there is no room left for the fire that an unruly tongue can kindle.  There should be no room left for gossip and idle talk, indiscreet conversations and harsh remarks.  As Rudyard Kipling might agree, we should fill that idle minute with sixty seconds worth of distance to run.  I cannot fill that minute with words that should be acceptable in the sight of God without His strength though, because it is so much easier to tear down than to build up.

May we strive for our speech to always be “seasoned with salt,” and be a vessel of blessing to all those we encounter, taking of the God’s grace to “build up” in the lives of others so that they in turn can bless someone else.  May we be “slow to speak” and take more time to hear Christ’s words, because I can assure you that our lives have been “built up” because of it.

   Posted on Wednesday, May 2, 2007                                                           by Allison J

Trust, Hope and Love

“We don't yet see things clearly.  We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.  But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright!  We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! 

But for right now, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.  And the best of the three is love” (1 Corinthians 13:12-13). 

Sometimes the fog in life seems a little thicker one day than it does another, and remembering to “trust steadily, hope unswervingly, and love extravagantly” seems far from our daily routine.  Three words: trust, hope, and love—they seem so easy to read and yet it so hard to put them into practice!

Earlier today, I was mulling over the thoughts of a sermon I once heard while visiting a new church when away at school.  The pastor made such a powerful statement that changed my view of squinting through that fog.  With a purposeful tone he said, “We owe our flesh nothing.”  Scripture tells us that “…faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5).  It is so easy to wallow in self-pity, which I so often find myself doing, or worse, “thinking it over.”  What’s with the idle faith?  What became of the power of God?!  It is easier to read than to put into practice, but our faith indicates that more than a first step has already been taken for us, something that I so often have to remember.  Christ did something on the Cross—and no little thing at that!  Dead to sin because of Christ, we can live in the victory of the Spirit, “trust steadily, hope unswervingly, and love extravagantly.”  We don’t owe our flesh the satisfaction of letting it feed on the attitudes and actions that are so easy for it to succumb into!  We are to live as those who are redeemed of the Lord, and because our Completeness—Christ—arrived, our incompletes were made void.  We are not perfect, by any measure, but God’s enabling power is always there for us to draw from to overcome weakness—and Christ did not leave us alone: He sent the Holy Spirit to prompt us to walk in the footprints of character that Christ left behind in His Word.  Christ, although He was God, did not cling to His rights as the Son of God, but took upon Himself the form of a servant—and God highly exalted Him.  There’s the measure of greatness for you!

Christ is always “…able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).  We must live in the reality of His power at work within us and claim the greatest of the three, love—claim the love that His death and resurrection demonstrated.  It is then that our lives can be vibrant messages that convince the world that God sent His only begotten Son.

   Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007                                                   by Allison J

The Pursuit of Happiness

There is a longing in every human for true meaning and security.  It is the pursuit of happiness (and no, I’m not talking about a belated movie review), that is so inherent to human nature.  It is a longing to be fulfilled and the journey to find that fulfillment.  Caught in the multitude of intellectual and personal tensions; caught in the frenzy of a society that is always on the move; caught in the cries of a generation that judges success by affluence; caught in the notion “intellectuals” have placed to reduce our world and existence to mere mass and energy—man seeks to grasp that elusive word of happiness.  Armed with a desire for love, a search is made in relationships.  Armed with a desire for knowledge, a search for happiness is made in books.  Armed with a desire for beauty, a search for happiness is made in art.  Armed with a desire for the well-expressed thought, a search for happiness is made in prose.  The search efforts are made in vain—and vanity precedes emptiness.   

One of the greatest theologians and writer of Christian apologetics, Francis Schaeffer, wrote: “Why did the Jews in Jeremiah’s day seek comfort and not find it, seek satisfaction and not find it?  Because they had forgotten the end of man, the purpose of man.  I want to commend something to you very strongly.  Often when we in the evangelical and orthodox circles talk about the purpose of man, we quote from the first answer of the Westminster Catechism: ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God.’  And often the sentence is ended there.  This completely changes our Reformation forefathers’ understanding of the Scriptures.  If you are going to give the complete Biblical answer, you must finish their sentence.  ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.’  That changes the whole view of life.  Our calling is to enjoy God as well as glorify Him.  Real fulfillment relates to the purpose for which we were made, to be in reference to God, to be in personal relationship with Him, to be fulfilled by Him, and thus to have an affirmation of life.”

Our Creator made us, and who we are and what life means becomes a maze when we ignore that we were made in His image and our purpose lies in being in a relationship with Him.  Suddenly that pursuit of happiness leads to dead ends.  Schaeffer continues to say, “The whole man is to be fulfilled; there is to be an affirmation of life that is filled with joy.”  Where does the pursuit of happiness truly dwell?  It lies in a life filled with joy.  Happiness is based on circumstance.  If something goes our way, a smile is painted on our face.  Possessing happiness is a mindset from a plastic culture—from a fictional society, because nothing ever always goes our way.  That is where joy and happiness differ.  Happiness rests in man; joy rests in God.  Joy is our spirit in full fellowship with the Lord.  Interesting that Christ summarized the entire law in two commandments—love God wholeheartedly, and love others as we love ourselves.  If our quest is for the right relationship, first with God and then with others, then the fulfillment we seek is not far.  I am not saying that discouragement will no longer be real to us, but rather that we hear Christ saying, “In this world you will have troubles.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  Christ shares with his disciples a little before that: “I have loved you, just as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love—continue in His love with Me.  If you keep My commandments—if you continue to obey My instructions, you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father's commandments and live on in His love.  I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing.  This is My commandment: that you love one another just as I have loved you” (John 15: 9-12).  The joy of being in full fellowship with Christ lies in His love and His Word.  He desires for us to live in both because He desires for us to be filled with His joy—joy that springs from a relationship with Him, because that’s what abiding is all about.

I know that God has been working on my heart as of late with my struggle with contentment, and so often I remember the phrase, “Grace is free but faith is not.”  It is no wonder then that I John 5:4 adds, “…for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”  A victory is the outcome of a battle, which means you had to go to battle in the first place!  This business about the pursuit of happiness isn’t an easy road to travel—the fibers of our relationship with God will be tried, and that is the very basis of faith, a relationship—but there is only one road that takes you to the right destination.  Perhaps that is why Schaeffer asked, “Does your Christianity end with something less than God who is there?”  Does your pursuit for happiness end with something less than God who is there?  We were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever—draw close to Him in all earnestness and He will draw close to you.

   Posted on Wednesday, February 14, 2007                                                by Allison J

A Person or a Cause

Ahh!  ‘Tis the day of mushy gushiness.  Cards and flowers, chocolates and candy hearts, gifts and dinner dates at fancy restaurants, piles of advertisements from the online dating industry and being blinded by the color pink and its fellow crayon companions at every turn—yes, it’s Valentine’s Day!  Spread the cheer!  …well…of course, that all depends on whether you’re into it or not, but the fact is that the concept of love is very much real to everybody.  Whether you’re loathing each hour of the very day until it’s over, have a sweetheart you want to shower with attention, or just handing out Valentine’s as a nice gesture but keeping it platonic, the true concept of love is the most powerful concept in this world.  Not surprising since, as Scripture tells us: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). 

I’m sure at one point in time everyone has heard the lecture on how Valentine’s Day has lost its meaning among the marketing and media bustle, how its history is overlooked, how casually we use the word “love” in our society—and I’m not disagreeing with it, I’m just not going to repeat it here.  We can shift our focus from the day or the cause to the Person of Jesus Christ and talk about how different human love is from that of God’s, but unless we make a willing choice to live differently because of that love, then we merely support man’s plague in our passivity.  As I read Scripture, I am inspired by the Apostle Paul’s zeal for God.  “Paul was devoted to a Person not to a cause.  He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s; he saw nothing else; he lived for nothing else.  ‘For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified’” (Chambers).  If we take notice, Paul begins each of his letters by pointing his fellow believers to the work of Christ accomplished by His love for us in his greeting to them.  His focus was on the fact that man was ailing, but Someone whose love can penetrate, convict, and change, chose to give His life a ransom for many.  Because of that love, he wrote to exhort the body of Christ to live as wholly His. 

Sin was the plague that ailed man—outspread and vast, innumerable were its evils.  Without a Mediator, it would build its stronghold deep within.  Because He loved us, He came to save from the penalty of sin.  He exposed himself to public ridicule and humiliation, and dies the death of a malefactor.  He became “obedient unto the death of the cross” that humanity might be free.  He was “made in the likeness of men” to direct wandering eyes to God’s sovereignty.  He left the splendors of heaven.  He left the glorious ring of the angels’ choruses.  Assuming the status of a carpenter, He “took upon him the form of a servant.”  Daily, His hands lifted loads of wood as He followed in His earthly father’s profession.  It was preparation.  He would one day bear a cross upon His shoulders to bring us an unspeakable gift.  He came to bring salvation to those who acknowledged their nothingness without Him, knowing by it that He truly first loved us.  Because He loved us, we can extend our hands to touch the hem of His garments.  We can receive a remedy for the pride of our sin-stricken souls.  We can draw from His strength to live for others rather than for ourselves.  His victory was not without purpose—it was decisive. 

In the end, we are not devoted to celebrating a holiday, we are devoted to a Person—One who’s love has changed the very core of the lives of those who believe in Him.  So if you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day today, low key or loud and clear—or if it’s not even a day on your calendar at all, our daily focus, holiday or no holiday, should remain on that “love so amazing, so divine” that “demands my soul, my life, my all” (Watts).

   Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007                                                 by Allison J

Already Knows, Already There

Different seasons in our lives find us either being watered, growing, flourishing, or being pruned.  I know that for a season now, one of mostly pruning for me, I have come to see the words “God has searched me and known me” in a better light.  He knows my down-sitting and my uprising—He always knows what I’m thinking, and better yet, understands all of my thoughts. 

I am always in His sight—He is acquainted with all of my ways.  Is it possible for any man to find a place to go from His Spirit or flee from His presence?  He is always there.  When I stop to look at the intricate workings of God’s creation, to see a God who can foster the tiniest flower and yet grip a mighty thunderbolt, the depth of one often-invisible message that creation holds becomes clearer.  That message is: trust Him.  He not only knows us inside and out but He is always there, and He knows how to care for His creation best.  The words of the hymn sing “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!  What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!”  Instead of trusting my “sins and griefs” into His care for bearing, I usually stumble onto two other roads.  The first road finds me ready to “Photoshop,” where my hands foolishly begin to sharpen at a picture in my life, change filters and brush things up here and there.  The question is, why keep tweaking at a situation in an attempt to get it right when God can achieve clarity on the first try?  Take a look at the petals of that flower and hear the roar of that thunderbolt—He got them right on the first try without breaking a sweat!

The second is trivializing myself into that which is not of eternal significance and worth, of losing sight of what is worthy of my adoration.  Treasures upon earth can be seen and felt, but they are not touched with the presence of God.  They bring a moment’s happiness, but not an enduring joy.  Faith is required to diligently seek for eternal treasures because we believe to have invested in something eternal, for we cannot see it.  Eyes set on the “things of above” will not be content when they settle for less, for they have tasted of the sweetness of Jesus.  I know that I have felt the imprint that earthly treasures leave on my soul of a void insufficiently filled.

Struggle is real, but when we stumble may we remember that He is faithful.  Although our eyes may have lingered over the temporal or we have attempted to take things into our own hands, we have never left His sight and His hand has always been extended to take a hold of.  He is always there.  Even better, He knows we can’t make it on our own, because as we said before, He understands our thoughts.  He knows we are tired and worn out, seeking real rest, which is why I love His promise: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30).  How true more words of that hymn sing, “Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?  Jesus knows our every weakness.  Take it to the Lord in prayer.”  Do just that—He already knows and He’s already there waiting.