Something For You to Carry With You Today.

Romans 12:12: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

Have joy in your hoping, stick with patience as you walk through suffering, pray all the the time. I so appreciate this little trinity of wisdom from Paul. He opens me to substance I can use with words of life written centuries ago.

REJOICE IN HOPE: Let the joy of what you hope for - the complete salvation of your soul unto eternity - flood you with hope. Hope lets a person abide toward a better future. A new day is coming when God will put all things to rights. Rejoice in the certainty of that day because God says it is coming. Your tears will be wiped from your reddened eyes. Your sorrows will finally end. Your frustrations and disappointments will fade from your memory. Pain will disappear as if a bad dream. And hope will finish its mission.

BE PATIENT IN TRIBULATION: Jesus avers you will have troubles in the world. Creation groans in travail and your life has known "sorrowful days." Life is full of troubles of every kind; troubles that bewilder, frustrate, bedevil and corner you, sometimes it seems at every turn. Paul says, "Yeah, I know, be patient anyway." You see, patience is a settler and a leveler. It opens perspective and stiffens resolve. It calms the storm and keeps your feet on the ground, moving forward or waiting for discernment. Patience is a weapon cutting through to peace of mind, and persevering in the face of overwhelming odds. Being patient in a situation gives faith and grace room to work.

BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER: Pray without ceasing, all the the time, every waking minute, and even when you are sleeping (ask God to give you the ability to do that). Don't be fooled into stopping . . . ever. Pray like your life depends on it; sometimes it does. The truth is praying connects you to the heart, mind and will of God. It summons you to his preferred future in your troubling or needy present. Praying constantly, brings peace to turmoil, life into death in all its forms, and courage into cowardice. Prayer also says, " I have something to say about how it's going to go down or turn out." To pray is to invest in treasures: life, liberty, healing, peace, joy,  and creating what does not yet exist. Praying keeps us in the Game of all games.

Something for you to carry with you today.