No Tears

No Tears In Heaven 

And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."—Revelation 21:4-5

 Today we live in a world where often tears will flow unbidden from our eyes. Tears of sorrow, sympathy and sacrifice; tears shed over losses, disappointments and failures in life; tears flow because of the pain and an anguish resulting from illnesses and diseases that strike our human frame or that of one we love; tears sometimes stream from our eyes when a loved sheds these earthly bonds. Tears, tears, tears.

 What individual has not shed tears on this journey of life? But let's pause for a moment, close our eyes and listen. Can you not hear it? I do. I hear John as he proclaims loudly and clearly that one day all those things that are a source of our tears will be no more (Rev. 7:16-17; Rev. 21:4). I hear him as he tells us that "he who sits on the throne will make all things new" (Rev. 21:5). On that day there will be deliverance from the trials and tribulations of this world and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes!

  Robert S. Arnold wrote the song, No Tears In Heaven, and the third verse of that song tugs at my heart mightily, "Some morning yon-der, we'll cease to ponder O'er things this life has brought to view; All will be made clear-er, saved ones be dear-er, In heav'n where all will be made new….No tears, no tears, no tears up there, Sorrow and pain will all have flown…No tears, no tears up there, No tears in heav-en will be known." What joyous anticipation is ours today!

 I don't know about you, but even with all the troubles, strife; trials and burdens of this life that cause tears to flow from our eyes, I still want to live for as long as possible. At the same time, I am so thankful that the magnificent grace and love of God makes it possible for everlasting peace and happiness to one day replace those tears (John 3:16; Col. 1:14-16; Titus 2:11; Heb. 2:9, 5:8-9).

 If we live our life today in a way that we can with the greatest of confidence say as Paul does in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me", then all the tears we shed on our journey through this life will not deter us from one day living in the land where we'll never grow old and tears will be no more.

 To God be the glory!

 Charles Hicks

 

 

 

An Enduring Faith

 

 An Enduring Faith

 

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord—Job 1:20-21 

Satan was given permission to use his powers to induce Job to curse God. His efforts to do so brought financial ruin to Job. That effort inflicted upon Job some of the deepest, most agonizing pain and grief of heart known to man, the death of his sons and daughters. Yet even in the darkest hour of his life, Job held firm to his faith in God. Satan's efforts to induce Job to curse God only led him to bless the name of the Lord.  He is a great example of a man with an enduring faith and in this he becomes a great example for you and I.

 We often live for months, even years, in which we experience nothing but good things. O, to be sure there are always those momentary aches, pains and burdens of life but nothing devastating. Then one day it happens, some horrific event comes crashing into our life. What will we do? How will we respond?  It now becomes a question of how deeply we have been willing to submit ourselves to God's will (Rom. 8:28, 31, 35-39, Psalms 23, James 4:6-10).

 When tragic events strike our human frame, they bring grief and pain and cause us to hurt. But for one who has submitted totally to God's will it will not be a question of why did this happen. There are so many things that happen in this life that I do not understand why they happen but one thing I do know, so long as I love and serve God with all my being, he will take care of me and he will do the same for you (Psalms 34:17-19, 1 Pet. 5:6-7). The words of Isaiah 40:31 have come to mean a lot to me: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint".  It is not the tragic events of life that cause us to falter, it is how we handle those events that determines whether we fail or rise to greater heights of faith. The storms of life will not overcome us if we allow the power of God to lift us above them.

 I am human, I am flawed, I am fragile—so are you. When everything seems to be chaos, when our hearts are pained so deeply it seems as if all is lost, I pray ours will be a sustaining faith just like Job of old.  Don't panic, pray (1 Thess. 5:17, Phil. 4:6-7, Heb. 4:16). Recognizing how great our God is will impart to us the strength and courage needed to sustain us all the way every day.

 "Oh for a faith that will not shrink though pressed on by every foe, that will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe" (William H. Bathurst) 

Charles Hicks