Vignettes From The Pearly Gates (Part 9)

(Day 9)

We may never leave any memorials behind; no one may even notice when we are gone; but God remembers each and every little thing we have done for His praise and glory; so we hold on to His promise, "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne." (Revelation 3: 21)

Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational

Hope Springs Eternal

Are you suffering from excruciating pain because of a lingering illness? Do you have mountains of problems that you feel you have already reached the end of the line? Is your situation so desperate that you feel you are already at the very edge of a cliff, ready to fall into a deep ravine? Are you suffering from sleepless nights, worrying and fearful of what tomorrow will bring? Do you feel so alone and lonely as if everybody has left and deserted you? The antidote to all these is HOPE.

And so, we hold on to that hope that after all the trials we are encountering, we will find peace, light and deliverance at the end of that dark tunnel. Hope is not dreaming nor wishful thinking. We cannot just dream that our fairy godmother will pop out of thin air and give us everything that our hearts desire. Nor do we dream that we will win the high stakes lotto and wipe all our troubles away. No, it will never work that way.

Hope is anchored on a divine promise. Let us just take one divine promise of hope. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Now we know that God's plan for us is to prosper us and to give us hope and a future. So we hold on to this divine promise no matter what situation we may be in right now. But wait a minute. There is a price for this. Nothing is free in the economy of God. We have to work for everything. Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you."

The price is just that. We must seek God's kingdom and His righteousness first.
In other words, we have to walk in His ways and follow His divine will and not our own. Then and only then can we really hope to achieve everything that our hearts desire.


Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational