Right now we are in the middle of the last two weeks of a CYT play I'm helping with. The play is so powerful and full of truth, and I know God has been working in the hearts the of cast and crew all year, but Tuesday's rehearsal was an extra special one. For the last half hour we had the most amazing time of prayer. Many of us were in tears as we praised our Savior, confessed our sin, acknowledged our weakness and need of His strength, and offered our lives to Him. It's honestly hard to find words to describe the beauty of what God was doing in our hearts, but it was amazing.
When we finished praying, we sang a song which, in the context of the play it's from, is sung when Christ returns for His bride. As we sang, I was sitting with a friend who is going through a number of painful, challenging circumstances. I always love singing that song, but at that moment I was struck by the reality of what's ahead. All of the trials of life, which in the moment are so overwhelming, are only temporary. Jesus is so much bigger than the biggest hurdle we face, and He is the absolute, eternal reality, while our heartache and struggles are only a vapor. He has promised to complete the work He began in this cast, and in every heart which belongs to Him. One day He will come again, and the beauty of the worship that cast and crew experienced that night will be our eternal reality! We will be together again, this time forever, with no sin or darkness to ever keep us from pouring our hearts out before Him for all of eternity!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
-1 Peter 1:3-7
When we finished praying, we sang a song which, in the context of the play it's from, is sung when Christ returns for His bride. As we sang, I was sitting with a friend who is going through a number of painful, challenging circumstances. I always love singing that song, but at that moment I was struck by the reality of what's ahead. All of the trials of life, which in the moment are so overwhelming, are only temporary. Jesus is so much bigger than the biggest hurdle we face, and He is the absolute, eternal reality, while our heartache and struggles are only a vapor. He has promised to complete the work He began in this cast, and in every heart which belongs to Him. One day He will come again, and the beauty of the worship that cast and crew experienced that night will be our eternal reality! We will be together again, this time forever, with no sin or darkness to ever keep us from pouring our hearts out before Him for all of eternity!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
-1 Peter 1:3-7
