Who will roll the stone away?

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.  You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”

-James 5:7-8

Heaviness...

Upon waking up this morning, I knew instantly I was going to be in desperate need of God’s love.  The sun outside had yet to rise and the light in my heart was growing cold.  Apathy and weariness were overwhelming my heart, mind and soul.  This world was too much for me…  It all made no sense, this following Christ was supposed to make things easier, right?  I mean, growing up, that is the idea I got in Sunday school that, once we start following God life is all hunky-dory and smooth sailing.  Hahah, what a joke.  If that is the way it is supposed to be, then I am majorly not getting something right.  Maybe, I was alone in that mindset.  The one that is hopeful for an easier journey after giving one's life over to The One who “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4).  But here is the thing, the promise is not that in this life there will be no more death, mourning, crying and pain but in the next.  We are living in a messed up world, waiting, in hopeful expectation for his return.  Here, we are suppose to be a light, amid suffering.  My Sunday school teachers did me a disservice by not reminding me that he told us we would face hardships here.  But that Christ meets us in our pain, suffering, sin to love, lift, and cover us with His perfect self, helping us so we may help others.

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.”

-Romans 8:14-20

My soul is frustrated, I am tired of being drained, messing up, feeling unworthy and lonely.  I needed a new day, a new reminder…“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:21).  I bowed my head and prayed.  I prayed that God would not let me be weary anymore, but that he would strengthen me and provide whatever I needed to get through this gloom...  

Here is what He gave me…

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.  Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’

 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

‘Don’t be alarmed, ’he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’

-Mark 16:1-7

A sunrise, a day where I did not know who would roll away the stone…
But God had it all taken care of already.

He rolled away the stone.

He rose, He is ahead of me…
He knew, He knows me, you...
dwell on that for a mintue...

There is something about waking up to watch the sunrise that refreshes my soul and re-ignites the flame inside of my heart for Christ. 

 As the light creeps up over the horizon painting the sky in ever changing shades of purple, yellow, orange, and red.   

The higher the sun gets the brighter the colors become until, all at once, the sun bursts forth creating a blinding white light that outshines them all.

The once blank sky now begins to form pillows of white clouds that move across the electric blue sky.

  A new day has begun as the birds sing their overture and tiny buds begin to form on the trees showing signs of spring’s renewal is in the air.  

The daffodils are out.  They shine bright, reminding me of the past…

The past...  The past where God has been faithful.  The past where God provided. The past where he died so that I may live.  

Another prayer answered, He has met me in my sorrow and lifted me out of my wallowing.  He made me look up to the glory of this new day He has made.  Then, he made me look around at his renewal of the Earth and reflect all that he has done so that I may have hope in what he is and will do.

He is good, brightly, beautifully, perfectly.  Troubles may come, but He will meet me right when and where I need to be.  

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

-Romans 5:6-8