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The Irresistible Appeal of a Sad Song

Turn Your Sadness into a Psalm

PREVIEW: Why do we keep coming back to sad songs time after time, generation after generation, millennium after millennium—and will continue to do so until sadness is banned from the created realm at the end of time? Because they work! You see, as we listen to them, the musician skillfully pulls from us the very same raw-edged emotions of pain, loss, and disappointment contained in the song, and somehow magically, mysteriously, inextricably, we become a part of it. Strangely, a sad song done well makes us even sadder—and we love it. So, here’s the deal: You’ve got pain, too—more than your fair share of sorrow, and disappointment. If you don’t, just wait a day or two, and you will. So you turn your sorrow into a song. And, if nothing else, sing your own sad song to the Lord. You never know, someone may discover your lament someday, and your sad tune may become famous. It wouldn’t be the first time. By the way, that is to best way to turn your regret into something redemptive!

The Irresistible Appeal of a Sad Song - Ray Noah Blog

MY JOURNEY OF WORSHIP // Psalm 88:1-3

A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left.

What we used to call Country and Western music—now it’s just called “Country”—isn’t the only musical genre to suffer an overabundance of sad songs. The truth is, all types of music have their fair share of lament. It may not be obvious at first, but the inspiration for so many of the songs we love has its origin in a broken heart, a dashed hope, or a shattered dream.

The reason we keep coming back to sad songs time after time, generation after generation, millennium after millennium—and will continue to do so until sadness is banned from the created realm at the end of time—is because they work. As we listen to them, the musician skillfully pulls from us the very same raw-edged emotions of pain, loss, and disappointment contained in the song, and somehow magically, mysteriously, inextricably, we become a part of it. Strangely, a sad song done well makes us even sadder—and we love it.

That’s what the psalm is doing here. The composer is sad, and he has written a song about it that pulls us into the raw, jagged edge of his pain:

  • He despaired of death—perhaps from outside forces, or maybe from the inner pain of his heartbroken life. (“For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near,” Psalm 88:3)
  • He felt abandoned by his closest friends, and all alone in the world. (“You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape. … You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend,” Psalm 88:8,18).
  • He was simply worn out with sorrow (“My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy.,” Psalm 88:9)
  • He was deeply disappointed with God for it. (“My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy,” Psalm 88:13-14)
  • He had suffered lifelong devastation—with no relief in sight, and he was at the point of surrendering to the likelihood that his would always be a hard and sad life. (“I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors,” Psalm 88:15) .

We know that this man, named Heman, by the way, was a very wise man (1 Chronicles 25:6)—among the wisest of the wise. Yet all of his wisdom, talent (he was also a singer-songwriter according to 1 Chronicles 15:19), and position in the king’s court didn’t prevent nor alleviate the pain that saturated his world. But Heman was wise enough not just to sit around and stew in his sad juices. Perhaps what made him so wise and talented was that he did something as therapeutic as anything else on earth to counteract his sadness: He wrote songs.

Heman put his experiences and emotions into words, and those words were set to music, memorialized in the psalter of the human race, the Book of Psalms. Maybe his pain never went away—we just don’t know—but I’m quite confident that he felt a whole lot better knowing that others would be inspired and find strength for their own painful journey through his music.

You’ve got pain, too—more than your fair share of sorrow, and disappointment. If you don’t, just wait a day or two, and you will. So why don’t you give it a shot? Turn your pain into a song. Sometimes you wrestle with the sobering sense that your sadness over a matter may just be your lot in life. Perhaps it never will go away—I hope not—but that may be your reality. Go ahead and put your experience into words. Then turn your words into a tune. And if nothing else, sing your own sad song to the Lord.

You never know, someone may discover your lament someday, and your sad tune may become famous. It wouldn’t be the first time.

By the way, that is to best way to turn your regret into something redemptive!

MY OFFERING OF WORSHIP: Have you ever written a song? If you lack the motivation, think about the things that make you sad. Then write them down and re-imagine them as a song. Do it as an act of faith and trust in the God who captures your tears in his bottle. Perhaps he will use your pain as a healing balm for others who are hurting.

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Righteous Wrath—What A Relief

God is Just—And God is Fair

PREVIEW: Ask most people and they will tell you they prefer a God of love, not wrath. They like a Jesus who is “full of grace,” but they are not so sure about a Christ whose grace is perfectly balanced with “truth.” They have, at least in their minds, as Dorothy Sayers notes, “efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him ‘meek and mild’ and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.” You see, most people are very uncomfortable with a Deity who actually punishes sin, preferring a world where “all dogs go to heaven”—as do all people. All of which would render judgment, punishment, and hell entirely irrelevant. However, though perfectly loving, resplendent with grace, unequaled in patience, and a place of safety for his children, God is also a bit dangerous because he is organically just. God is just, and like it or not, we should all be eternally grateful!

Auto Righteous Wrath—What A Relief - Ray Noah

A JOURNEY OF WORSHIP // Psalms 76:7-9

It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? From heaven, you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

Ask most people, and they will tell you they prefer a God of love, not wrath. They like a Jesus who is “full of grace,” but they are not so sure about a Christ whose grace is perfectly balanced with “truth.” You see, most people are very uncomfortable with a Deity who actually punishes sin, preferring a world where “all dogs go to heaven,” as do all people. All of which would render judgment, punishment, and hell entirely irrelevant.

Yet throughout the Bible we find in the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a capacity for righteous wrath: Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire, moneychangers are given the bum’s rush right out of the temple, greedy Ananias and Sapphira drop dead in church, and at the proper time, the living and the dead will face the final judgment. Though perfectly loving, resplendent with grace, unequaled in patience, and a place of safety for his children, God is also a bit dangerous because he is organically just.

I prefer a God like that. I don’t want the syrupy, doting eternal Santa Claus who does nothing but dispense goodies to one and all—even the bad ones. I want a God who is fair and true and just…and dangerous.

However, what I prefer, what anyone prefers, matters little. Like it or not, the kind of God we get is a God of love—and of justice! Likewise, the kind of Savior we get wasn’t the sugary sweet version so many in our culture have made him to be—a sanitized, tame, Mr. Rogers version of Christ. Dorothy Sayers was right,

To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary, he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies… To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.

But the Bible is quite clear: Jesus is no pussycat—he is the Lion of Judah, and one day, as 2 Timothy 4:1 says, “Jesus Christ [will] judge the living and the dead.” And on that day, all of heaven will thunder, “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were the Holy One…Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” (Revelation 16: 5,7)

All of creation, including you and I, will be utterly amazed at the justice and fairness of God’s judgment, and we will stand in solidarity to declare in unison, “That’s exactly right—true and just are your judgments!”

Justice will finally be served by the only One who can be trusted to judge in righteousness and fairness. What a relief!

MY OFFERING OF WORSHIP: As you read scripture, the next time you come across a passage where God is meting out punishment or issuing a law that seems so incredibly harsh to our modern, sophisticated ears, just stop and by faith, thank God that he is both just and fair.

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Everything I NeedTo Know About God

I Learned in Genesis 1

Give It Some Thought: Good morning, and Happy January 2. If you began the New Year yesterday with a “Through the Bible” reading plan, you likely started at the beginning, Genesis 1. And in this opening chapter, we find all that we really need to know about anything and everything, which is simply yet profoundly this: God did it! In fact, in the Bible’s opening line, the first thing we discover about God is that he is the creator of all, and the second thing we learn is that he hovers over the chaos, bringing order, beauty, and glory from it. And that should be of great comfort as we begin the journey into an uncertain year ahead, for that is God’s ongoing, unstoppable, flawless work in me—and you, too!

Moments With God // Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

The first thing we learn about God in reading the Bible is that he is the Creator. The second thing we learn is that he hovers over the chaos and brings order, beauty, and glory from it.

Now the writer of Hebrews tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8). Jesus, who is God, whom John tells us was the agent of creation (John 1:1-4), is still actively creating and ordering in the lives of his followers.

I am grateful that through Jesus, creating and ordering is still God’s activity in my life. He still forms beauty and glory from my unruly, empty, dark, chaotic life. And while it seems that I am a long way from being finished, I am at the present moment his workmanship (Eph 2:10).

Thank God for a Creator who finishes his work, for “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6).

Enough said. God did it! God is at work! God will finish it. Cheers to the year ahead!

My Offering of Worship: What do we learn from Genesis 1? Simply this: God did it. He started it all from nothing; he is shepherding what he started; he will bring it to the completion he desires—he will finish it in fine fashion. That includes his work in your life, too. Take a moment to offer your gratitude for the Author and Finisher of your faith.

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T.E.A.M

It Takes A Team To Advance The Kingdom

UNSHAKEABLE: Paul, the great theologian who was largely responsible for the evangelization of the western world, didn’t do it all by himself. He needed a little help from his friends in every city where he preached the gospel and planted a church. Though you will likely never hear a sermon or attend a Bible study where his team is given any mention, Paul gives them their props in the eternal Word of God in Romans 16. Take a moment to read this long list of strange names and grasp the truth coming from this list that it takes a team to do the work of the kingdom. For sure, there are leading characters on the Kingdom team, but it’s still a team, mostly of unnamed, unsung heroes who are typically forgotten — except by God. So as you think of the unnamed, unsung heroes in your life, be grateful for them! Especially the ones who serve behind the scenes simply being faithful to God and being kind to God’s people.

It takes a team to advance God’s Kingdom. For sure, there are leading characters on the that team, but it’s still a team, mostly of unsung heroes who are typically forgotten — except by God. —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 16:1

I commend to you Phoebe…she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.

So who was Phoebe? We don’t really know, except that she was a deacon in the church in Cenchrea—which brings up a whole different matter about women deacons. I won’t go there for now, but, hey, the Bible sure does…

Anyway, we don’t know much about Phoebe, or the other friends that Paul names as he closes out the book of Romans. Now at this point, I want to do something normally guaranteed to lose your interest at this point—I want to list those names for you. But before I do, promise me that you’ll read through this entire list. You probably won’t be able to pronounce these names correctly, but that’s okay. I can’t either. I just read them really fast and with a lot of bravado, so when people hear me they think I must be an expert in ancient languages. Try it—  you’ll impress your friends.

So here they are: There’s Priscilla, Aquila, Penetus, Mary, Andronicus, Junia, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, the household of Aristobulus, the household of Narcissus, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus and his mother, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and his fellow Christians, Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympia and her Christian friends, Timothy, Lucias, Jason, Sosipater, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus, and last but not least, Quartus.

Whew! My spell-checker is smoking. I don’t think it will ever be the same again.

So what’s up with these names? Simply this: Paul, the great Apostle, the guy who deservedly gets his name in lights almost every Lord’s Day in churches around the world, knew very well that he couldn’t have done it without the help of his friends. If Paul were accepting an Oscar, he would be up there for minutes listing off all the people he’d like to thank—these names and many others he mentions in some of his other writings.

This great theologian who was largely responsible for the evangelization of the western world didn’t do it all by himself. He needed a little help from his friends in every city where he preached the gospel and/or planted a church. Though you will likely never hear a sermon or attend a Bible study where these names are given any mention, Paul gives them their props in the eternal Word of God.

My point is, it takes a team to do the work of the Kingdom. For sure, there are leading characters on the Kingdom team, but it’s still a team, mostly of unnamed, unsung heroes who are typically forgotten—except by God. God never forgets. He appreciates the contributions of each and every single one — even the lesser lights. And he has stored up indescribable recognition and reward for them in the Kingdom to come. And Paul’s mention of them here in the last chapter of Romans is a subtle reminder to us of their contribution to his efforts and of their value to God.

Maybe you are one of those unnamed, unsung heroes who goes unnoticed by everyone else. But your faithfulness is noticed by God. Perhaps you are a Phoebe to a Paul or a Patrobas to a Peter or a Junius to a John, and you wonder if you really matter. My response to you is, “Yes, you matter. We wouldn’t be effective in building God’s Kingdom without you! It takes a team — and no matter how you feel, you are an integral part of that team!”

But more important than my acknowledgment is God’s. He has written your name in a book, too — one that’s even better than Romans. It’s the Book of Life. And God himself will celebrate your name all eternity long. How’s that for recognition?

So just be faithful in doing what you’re doing. Your day is coming!

Get Rooted: Every church is made up of friends of Christ as well as enemies of the Gospel. Even your church! That may be hard for you to swallow, but it’s true. Now rather than getting you riled up and ready to go on a witch hunt, here is what Paul would ask you to do: Take the time to express your gratitude to God for those true friends who make the Gospel possible in your church. And not only thank God for them, but also thank them, too.

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The 12×12 Rule!

Your SOP As A Christian

UNSHAKEABLE: Adopt the 12×12 Rule as your SOP—the standard operating procedure for your Christian life. It comes out of Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” When you come to a sticky challenge, are overcome by a sense of helplessness, are left scratching your head in bewilderment, or find yourself up against an insurmountable wall, invoke the 12×12 rule. Memorize it—it’s pretty easy; it’s just ten words. Meditate on it until you absorb it into your core. Pray it back to God until the Holy Spirit brings it to life in your way of thinking. And then just do it. Invoke it early and often as you do life.

Being joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer should be the Standard Operating Procedure of your life as a Christ-follower. —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:9-21 is kind of a checklist for Christ-like behavior. Depending on how you count them, you will find no less than nineteen commands that the Christian is to carry out; practical ways, if you will, that we can truly live as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” (Rom 12:1)

The Message version’s rendering of verse 1 calls us to take our “everyday, ordinary life — our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” With God’s help, by rejecting the world’s way of thinking and acting, by the complete transformation of our entire way of viewing, doing, and approaching life, and with our 24/7 dedication to the aforementioned, this checklist pretty well covers what should be the outward produce of that inner renovation we have experienced in Christ.

There is one item on this checklist that is a particular favorite of mine: Romans 12:12. A few years ago, an elder in the church where I served as lead pastor brought that particular verse to my attention. It became the motto of our elder board — and I affectionately named it the 12×12 rule: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. In our elder’s meetings, when we would come to a sticky challenge, were overcome by a sense of helplessness, left scratching our head in bewilderment, or found ourselves up against an insurmountable wall, we’d just invoke the 12×12 rule.

The 12×12 rule became such a standard response as well as a call to action for my leadership team that one year during the Christmas season the elders gave me a gift that would be a constant reminder to invoke this rule in my life and leadership. It was a beautiful Mont Blanc pen — with the words, “Romans 12:12” inscribed on it. I have never received a more unforgettable and beneficial gift!

The 12×12 rule pretty well sums up what it means to be Christian, doesn’t it? I would like to challenge you to adopt the 12×12 rule as your own. Memorize it—it’s pretty easy; it’s just ten words. Meditate on it until you absorb it into your core. Pray it back to God until the Holy Spirit brings it to life in your way of thinking. And then just do it. Invoke it early and often as you do life.

The 12×12 rule. I like that: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.

Get Rooted: Meditate on Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you continually of this calling so that it becomes your SOP, your standard operating procedure for life!

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Life Sentence

You Get To Choose Your Sentence — Eternal Death or Eternal Life

UNSHAKEABLE: If you are a follower of Christ, you already know that Christ’s substitutionary death commuted your own eternal death sentence and replaced it with an eternal life sentence. So what’s the big deal; how should this affect your life today? Well, among other things, when sin (both your sin nature and your individual acts of sin) tries to remind you that you are still under the death penalty of Adam’s disobedience (which, by the way, is so paradoxical: the world says there is no guilt while at the same time, the god of this world reminds you that you’re as guilty as sin), you can remind sin that Someone else paid the death penalty for you. You were a “Dead man [or woman] walking” but you have been declared “not guilty!” You have walked out of sin-prison a free man or woman by the gracious act of Another.

Life Sentence

Unshakeable Living // Romans 5:17

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

The problem is simple — yours and mine: We’re dead men walking. We are all under a death sentence because of Adam’s sin:

You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in— first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. (Rom 5:12, MSG)

Since Adam was the first human being created and, therefore the head of the human race, through this one man’s disobedience sin entered the genetic code of all humanity. That might seem unfair, but that’s the way it works. Every human being, without exception, even the best among us — the sincere, good-hearted, law-abiding citizen — is horribly infected with sin-tainted DNA:

Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. (Romans 5:14, MSG)

And even though there was no real accounting for sin before the Law of Moses was revealed (“Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break” Rom 5:13), the consequence of sin still reigned: Death for all—both literal, physical death and spiritual, eternal separation from God. What God created human beings to experience and enjoy — an intimate relationship and forever life in his presence — was erased the moment Adam chose to disobey God’s commands.

Yet as horrible as this situation is, the good news is that through another man’s obedience, Jesus Christ, our death sentence was commuted to a “life” sentence — a restoration of intimacy with God and forever life in his presence. You see, Jesus is the last Adam (“The Scriptures tell us, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living person.’ But the last Adam that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit” 1 Cor 15:45), and as the head of a spiritual race, our rebirth through him permanently alters our genetic code with life — eternal life that cannot be taken from us. Just as the first man’s singular act of disobedience (eating from a forbidden tree) had the universal effect of trumping life with death, so the last man’s singular act of obedience (dying on a tree) trumped death with life eternal for all who believe:

If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides? (Rom 5:17, MSG)

Of course, if you are already a follower of Christ, you know all this. So why does Paul keep bringing this up here in Romans? What’s the big deal; how should this affect your life today?

Well, for one thing, it ought to affect your attitude toward people who are far from God. They are genetically infected with Adam’s sin-tainted DNA and therefore sentenced to death. And there is just one way out: only rebirth into eternal life through Jesus Christ can rewire their Adamic genetic code. Don’t ever forget that! In an age that pressures us into believing that there are many ways to God, that if you are just good enough and sincere enough, then in the end, you’ll be just fine, remember the truth: In Adam, all die! But in Jesus, all live!

Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right:

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. (Rom 5:18-19, MSG)

And for another thing, when sin (both your sin nature and your individual acts of sin) tries to remind you that you are still under the death penalty for Adam’s disobedience (which, by the way, is so paradoxical: the world says there is no guilt while at the same time, the god of this world reminds you that you’re as guilty as sin), you can remind sin that Someone else paid the death penalty for you. Your death sentence has been commuted to eternal life!

Should that make a difference in your life today? You bet! You were a “Dead man [or woman] walking” but you have been declared “not guilty!” You have walked out of sin-prison a free man or woman by the gracious act of Another.

Should that make a difference in your life today? You tell me!

Get Rooted: Write out a simple prayer of profound gratitude to God for the commutation of your death sentence to a life sentence of eternal joy in the presence of the One who made it possible by his substitutionary death on the cross.

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2,000 Years And Stronger Than Ever

You May Not See The Seed Growing, But It Is

SYNOPSIS: Mark it down: God’s work will grow! It’s unstoppable! Little by little, imperceptibly, over time God’s kingdom begins to produce, prevail, and even perpetuate itself until it becomes a dominating, irresistible, governing force in individual lives, whole families, communities, and entire people groups. As Rudolph Stier said, “The seed once sown grows … of itself, from its own impulse and power of life … The self-inherent power of growth of the kingdom of God.” So, stay faithful to your kingdom assignment — never waver. Don’t lose heart and never give up because, as Jesus promised, “the grain will finally ripen.” You have a stake in something that is truly, indescribably amazing, but the full results of its growth will not be known until the other side of eternity.

Moments With God // Mark 4:28

… And finally the grain ripens.

Jesus spent a fair amount of time in both private settings and public presentations describing the kingdom of God to people. One of the compelling ways he did that was through stories—parables—earthy vignettes that revealed spiritual truth about God, heaven, and the kingdom life. Jesus did that because people’s understanding of God’s kingdom had gotten messed up over the thousands of years since God first called the tribes of Israel out of Egypt and fashioned them into a people for himself. So, through parables, he reminded them of what God and his rule were really like.

Of the many wonderful descriptions Jesus gave, we find two stories about seeds in Mark 4:26-34 that describe the amazing, unstoppable growth of God’s kingdom on Planet Earth: The parable of the growing seed and the parable of the mustard seed. The point of both is that when the seed—the Word of God—is faithfully planted in good soil—the hearts of open and hungry people—the rule of God will begin to grow. Little by little, imperceptibly, over time the kingdom begins to produce, prevail, and even perpetuate itself until it becomes a dominating, irresistible, governing force in individual lives, whole families, communities, and entire people groups.

I hope that encourages you—it does me! Sometimes we get frustrated by the lack of growth of God’s kingdom in our lives, or our churches, or perhaps by what we may perceive as a falling away from the rule of God in our nation. To be sure, there are enemies and forces that not only oppose the kingdom but are actively working to kill it off. The truth is the growth of the kingdom is not an easy thing because there is a very strong Enemy whose chief objective is to stop it. Satan is alive and well on God’s planet, and he will be a force to be reckoned with until his time is up.

However, at the end of the day, the kingdom of God is unstoppable. People who claim to follow God may come and go, churches that once thrived may plateau, decline, or perhaps even close their doors; denominations will rise and fall; nations will wander from the guiding principles that once made them a godly nation—and you might even find your own passion for the rule of God waxing and waning a bit. Yet the kingdom of God is doing just fine after 2,000 years since Jesus gave it its start. What began with twelve unlikely fishermen from Galilee has spread around the world to hundreds of millions today who have joyfully surrendered to God’s rule—and it shows no signs of abating.

So don’t get discouraged, my friend. You may not be able to see the seed growing, but it is—and it will. You may never see the end result, but that does not diminish the seed’s potential. Just keep planting that seed wherever you can. Water the soil—in your own life, in your family, in your circle of influence, and at your church. Keep the weeds pulled—it is a constant battle because the Enemy keeps sneaking into the field to sow tares.

Just stay faithful to the kingdom, don’t lose heart, and never give up. You have a stake in something that is truly, indescribably amazing—and the full results of its growth will not be known until the other side of eternity.

Yes, the grain will finally ripen!

Takes A Moment: Recommit your life to the kingdom of God today—especially if you have become discouraged by its lack of growth in your own life or its waning vitality in your church or some other circle of concern—by praying this prayer: “Heavenly Father, may your kingdom come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever! Amen.”