Until You Return
I can endure the daily
trials, Lord;
for I hope in Your
return.
I know this world is a
fleeting moment,
and my heart with longing
yearns
to be home.
But I continue in the
work, Lord,
produced by faith in You.
Prompted by Your love
through me
I will serve others, too,
until You come.
“We continually remember before our God and Father
your work
produced by faith,
your labor prompted by love, and your endurance
inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV)
hŭpŏmŏnē5281 – cheerful (or hopeful) endurance,
constancy: enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting)
How
do you keep going when the going gets tough?
I know I could never do it in my strength alone, but I can “do all
things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). I’ve been through
many trials, great and small. Sometimes I think what seem to be the lesser
trials may be the most difficult of all.
No, it
wasn’t easy to feel victorious during the two-year period when multiple
tragedies assailed my family. We lost my dad to cancer, one cousin to cirrhosis
of the liver, and another cousin to a brain tumor. About fifteen close family friends also went
home to be with the Lord, including my dad’s lifelong friend and the mother of
the first boy I ever dated. My Uncle fell, suffered a brain hemorrhage, and was
in a coma for weeks. Mother had shingles, the flu, and double pneumonia in a
period of three months. There was nothing else that made sense in those
situations except to pray constantly.
However,
during what I call every day trials, I tend to rely on my own energy and forget
to focus on the Lord Jesus. Dealing with irate customers, training new
employees, maintaining a large yard, and small health problems wear me down;
but I forget to pray. I find myself
focusing on the problems of this world instead of hoping in the Kingdom of God
Many necessary tasks are
mundane…driving to and from work, pulling weeds, spreading fertilizer, cleaning
house. I’ve discovered that I can use the time spent doing mindless chores to
“fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” I can recall
memorized scripture. I can remember favorite Bible stories. I can wonder what Heaven will be like and how
it will feel to see Jesus face to face. The tasks are no longer mindless.
Instead I am renewing my mind (Romans 12:2). Then the hope that I have in Jesus
inspires me to endure.
Lord, draw my thoughts to the promise that
you are preparing a place for me in your Father’s house and help me to press on
patiently until You come for me.
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