Take Heart

So much of life, we're dealing with the unknown, the hardship, or the trials of life. I was able to sit by a stone this weekend. It wasn't the stone in front of Jesus' tomb. Or a stone placed on the altar of Isaac or in the Jordan River. But it was a sacred stone none the less. A stone that is in an ordinary picnic area, that most people don't even notice. But a stone placed as a memorial for my sweet Mamma. A stone with her sweet name on it. A stone spelling out the woman I knew and loved so well. Not a famous stone, but a beautiful one none the less.

There are a lot of things in the life that we face. Pain, suffering, disappointment, fear, and on and on. It always surprises us, though I'm not sure why. Jesus told us we would have trouble in this world. Then he said, "But take heart. For I have overcome the world." These were words he said not long before he would face more evil and suffering than we could ever fathom.

I don't think "take heart" means that the trouble will easily go away. Or that the trouble won't be painful and difficult to weather. Or maybe if we live a "good" enough life, than none at all. If you've lived at all, you've seen that it most certainly is. But we do know that our friend, our Creator, our God, has overcome the world. That in the midst of our trial, though our bodies face pain, though our minds are tormented at times, though our strife seems to persist to no end, our hope is not in a perfect world. Our hope is in a God who has overcome the world.

When I have the chance to remember that, it helps me to see that even though the days can be long at times, and the trials unending, it really is for only a brief moment. We really will be rescued from this world and sat with our Savior at the right hand of God Almighty.