Heavenly Father I give you all the glory and praise for all that You have and will do in my life. I am thankful for the salvation that gives me life instead of death. I am grateful You did not leave us orphans when Christ ascended to heaven over 2000 years ago but allowed Your Holy Spirit to come and dwell with and in us. I praise You for giving me a long-term perspective especially when I can’t see past my present situation.
Holy Spirit Christ said to His disciples and I take heart in His wisdom when He said: “Do you inquire among yourselves concerning what I said: ‘In a little while you will not see Me; and then after a little while you will see Me’? Truly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has pain, because her hour has come. But as soon as she delivers the child, she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a child is born into the world. Therefore, you now have sorrow, But I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. [John 16:19-22] I know that in this life I have and will still face many things in life that will cause me pain, hurt, grief, and feelings of defeat. I must continue to encourage myself and others that this is now but not forever. I have a home I want to reach. I have a Savior I want to meet face to face. I have people who have gone before me that I want to be reunited with. Most of all I want to make it to the time when I spend eternity fully perfected so that I can live the way originally planned for me to live and so that I can fellowship with God and all people who are His. Until then, I live in a broken, sinful, dark world where chaos seems to reign and anything defying God is glorified. I must persevere by being faithful, encouraging others, taking time to pray, meditating, and growing in my application of Your word so that I can walk through this life fulfilling God’s plan until either His return or my time to cross over into eternity. Holy Spirit help this living temple glorify You, never lose hope, grow strong in the joy I have, and be expectant daily on what God has next. Let me renew my mind daily, tame my tongue, and die out to my preconceived ideas of what I think I should do or how life is supposed to be so that I clear the way to fully learn, live, and breathe the will of God.
The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:10-15&18