This journey, called life, is only a shadow of what is waiting.
It demands endurance.
We have a family moving out to farm alongside us.
They have a long haul in front of them.
This is a new culture and climate.
Many adjustments.
They need to be in this for the long haul.
This journey in life.
It is not easy.
It is riddled with strife, heartache and shattered dreams.
There is great beauty,
and there is deep pain.
Yet there is comfort and hope for the journey. There is solid ground on which to plant your feet.
We need to be in it for the long haul.
The investment; long term.
Our joy deep rooted.
Rooted deep, in solid truth;
where moth and rust cannot destroy.
Matthew 6:20
Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy
Rooted in the only soil where hope surges and strength is found.
When church was not an option today as the joy thief became my farmers unwanted companion,
I searched the archives of the internet for sustenance for my soul.
I chose John Piper and the first message to show in the list was; “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing“.
So, I gathered the Ancient Word, and my notebook.
I showed up fully alert.
I wanted to hear what God would say through the scholarly, highly regarded John Piper.
It wasn’t long before I heard it. I saw it.
He knew.
He understood.
He dove into that scripture and there it was;
right in 2 Corinthians 6:10.
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich;
having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
Paul endured beatings and prison. Poverty and persecution. Yet he was still able to say;
Philppians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
He removes the stumbling blocks; We serve God not because we’re rich or
because our lives are full of ease and certainty.
Uncertainty abounds.
We serve God because of who He is; in the midst of all this.
