DECEMBER 23, 2016

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” 
― Jalaluddin Rumi

HABAKKUK

17Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

18yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to tread on the heights.(3:17-19)

REVELATION 14

There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

13Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

JOURNAL 

The purpose of following and worshiping God is not for immediate gratification of material wants. God is not a trinket God. This can be no clearer than in these verses because those that follow God endure great suffering. Yet it is in this faith that we find our purpose, our strength and our comfort. 

To follow God in the midst of suffering is what produces courage and love and faith and joy. It makes no sense yet this is what we are promised. When I think back on my own life, I find that this is true...trusting God in the midst of heartache produced some of the greatest joys of my life, giving me peace and contentment in the midst of pain. 

This is why I follow and this is why I worship and this is why I continue to read and search even though my immediate need is not dire.

12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

ROMANS 12:12-13