Hang in there by Eli

“Hang in there, this trouble will soon be over and things will go back to normal again.” I see these kind of posts quite frequently where people are trying to encourage one another in this time when everything normal seems to have been turned upside down. Then I have to wonder, what is normal anyway? While “normal” can be quite different from one country to another, or even one family to another, it’s what we all long for, because it’s the place where we are comfortable with ourselves and our surroundings. Where things are Ok.

While I too long for a place where everything is Ok, I don’t want that place to be on this earth where everything will be burned up anyway. Because I don’t want to ever be Ok in a place where people are dying without hope and going to hell. I have been given a living hope that tells me once my life here is over, and after this place called earth gets taken over by evil and wicked people and then destroyed, I will be in a place called heaven where everything is Ok. So why would I want to waist my time seeking my own comfort in a place that’s passing away when I can be spending my time and energy sharing that living hope I possess to those who don’t have hope. Telling them and demonstrating to them with my life that they don’t have to go to hell, but that God loves them and even paid their way to go to heaven where everything is Ok. Even if my entire life on earth is spent in uncomfortable situations telling people of this living hope, and I am constantly ridiculed and mocked by those who have been taken captive by Satan, and I die in a strange and distant land away from loved ones, the price cannot be compared with one person’s soul being saved from the agony of hell, and placed into eternal life with our Lord Jesus Christ forever.

So for my brothers and sisters who have also received this living hope, but have been living a normal life seeking their own comfort and happiness, I pray things will never go back to normal for you. I say this out of love, not because I want you to be miserable. But because I want you to experience the inexpressible joy and peace that far exceeds any earthly comforts that can only be experienced when we lay down our lives for others in obedience to our Master. I hope this time of disruption and discomfort will cause you to press in a little closer to our Savior’s heart, so you too will feel the overwhelming love He has for you and all humanity, as well as feel the pain He feels every time a person dies in their sin and tumbles into hell because they didn’t know He paid the price for them. And the sadness He feels when one of the ones He saved decides to be more concerned with their own comfort than about their neighbors being saved. I pray God would give you a full understanding of the truth that He commanded all His followers to make disciples, and that He would give you the strength to make a decision to be radically obedient to Him and His Word and His Spirit. That you would get to where you’re Ok with the only normal that has value being that God is always close to and gives favor to those who walk with Him in obedience, that He always keeps His promises, and that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. So that the peace that surpasses all understanding would rule your hearts and minds as things seem to continue spinning even further out of control on this earth. We are getting very close to the end of the book. Our time and resources are valuable when we invest them into the Kingdom of God, but worthless when invested in earthly things. By Eli Lee

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