Until

 "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6...."Hold fast to what you have until I come." Revelation 2:25...."Occupy until I come." Luke 19:13...We are living in the great 'until.' " Vance Havner

Weariness. It's something we're all feelling. Weariness over the ongoing political and social turmoil. Weariness of the pandemic and its multi-layered effects. Weariness over the steady erosion of trust in government, media, and in some cases, the church. The people of God are not exempt from this weariness. Indeed, we may feel it more acutely than anyone. Even so, the Father calls us to press on, and to press on in hope.

I love Jesus' words in Luke 19. We, His people, are to "occupy" until He returns. One translation reads that we're to "do business" until His return. We're to be occupied with the business of the Kingdom. We're not to be deterred by the rising tides around us, or the seeming sinking sand beneath us. We're to faithfully live out our trust and belief in Him day by day, moment by moment, until He returns. And He will return. And He has issued sobering words concerning His return. He asks, "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?" Will He find that in me, in you?

The hope of the believer is that regardless of what is happening around us, He is at work both in the circumstances before us, and His life within us. He has purpose in both, and He means to bring all of it to completion. Our part is not to just surrender to the day to day events of life, but to live our lives out in faith that all that He has promised will be done. We live for Him and in Him....until He comes.

Havner writes of "living in the great until." It's a process of waiting, but not a passive process. When the Bible speaks of waiting, it is anything but passive. It is a position of actively clinging to Him, listening to His heart, acting on His direction, and living in full expectation that He will bring to pass every promise He has made to us. Waiting until He's put every enemy under our feet. Waiting until He "subdues all things to Himself." Waiting until He has made all His enemies "His footstool." And as we wait, we are occupied with the business of the Kingdom.

What will occupy us today? What business will we be conducting today? Will we be living out a robust faith in Him, or yielding to the weariness that the enemy seeks to neutralize us with? We need to hear His words anew, "Look up, for your redemption draws near." We must press on, in hope that will not disappoint, until He comes again. And His coming is assured. When He comes, may He find us faithful.

Blessings,

Pastor O