Pile of Hardships

~~~ 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matthew 6:19-23 ~~~

...store up treasures in heaven...

Whatever trials, tribulations or hardships

 we endure during our life they are not in vain.

Our suffering while here on earth 

is building up treasure for us in heaven.

Paul endured much suffering while

 he was ministering to the people.

He was tortured, imprisoned, beaten and starved

just to name a few of his hardships.

Paul never gave up he remained true to his calling...

he was resolved to do the will of God.

He believed that the reward for his faithfulness 

would come in the next life...

his life in heaven.

Consider this vision for a moment.

As you go through life with various hardships,

eventually many of them pass.

Suppose these difficulties where to be set in a pile?

Every time a hardship comes along 

I invite you to mentally put it

 into your personal 'pile of hardships'.

As time progresses some of your piles may be quite high.

Perhaps some are toppling off the sides

falling to the ground just to be noticed once again.

Some may be poking out the side of the pile.

...store up treasures in heaven... 

What if when we get to heaven, when our eyes are opened,

we discover that all of these things have been transformed.

What if what we believed to be hardships 

were actually turning to gold.

If we could only see the true beauty of our hardships

maybe we would not be so reluctant to accept them.

The treasures we store up in heaven 

are directly related to our life here on earth.

Whatever trials you are experiencing 

God will turn into gilded blessings.

There will be no more tears and suffering in heaven.

May God teach us to see our hardships

as building up our treasure in heaven.

~~~Peace~~~

All About the Joy

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 19:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 68 ~~~ 

~~~ John 16:29-33 ~~~

In the world you will have trouble,

but take courage, I have conquered the world.

Jesus tries to prepare his disciples for the realities of the world.
They had seen how he suffered and was persecuted.
Now he was telling them that they too would have
many hardships to bear in the world.
Those who follow Jesus...
those who were and are believers
have never been spared hardships, pain, and suffering.

Even today it is not for us to question why
we have troubles in our life.

It is precisely when we are facing pain and suffering
that we must remember his words of courage.

We cling to this world because it is all that is visible.
We long to cling to heaven, but it is invisible to us.

Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians...

If then you were raised with Christ,
seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of the God.

We can take courage to keep our focus on what is above
because Jesus came into the world...
Jesus conquered the world on your behalf.

He is never far away from you.
He is with you...he loves you

None of us will escape this world without facing
 some heartaches or physical suffering.

It is the way of the world.
Take courage,
for the way of heaven is
all about the joy.

You are Blessed because
Jesus came into the world.
Jesus conquered the world for you.
Take Courage!
~~~Peace~~~

Why Do We Shy Away?

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 14:19-28 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ John 14:27-31A ~~~

Do you believe that hardships are part of your spiritual life?
How, if possible, can they make one stronger?
The disciples were thrown out to be stoned to death.

Paul did not let incidents like this stop him.
He was not deterred from the destination.
Paul believed that the destination
was beautiful; the hardships would not stop him.

The destination was being united with Jesus for all of eternity.
We are all on the identical journey...
to reach the same destination...the Kingdom of God.

“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”

Sometimes we are tempted to pray for a pain free life.
Often we pray that our loved ones will be spared
 from unnecessary hardships and pain.

But why, do we shy away from hardships?
What are we afraid of?

Even Jesus faced hardships, the agony in the garden for instance.
Jesus asked the Father to spare him from the passion and death.

The person you most want to become
 will not happen without enduring the necessary hardships.

The desire to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven
gives us the courage and strength to endure our hardships.
It is in our hardships when we most need
 to cling to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"If we believe that tomorrow will be better,
we can bear a hardship today."
-Thich Nhat Hanh-

Everything in life has a purpose and a reason..
not to discourage us but to encourage us
to believe that the last tomorrow
will be the best.
We will be very close
 to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessings in hardships
with eyes fixed on the destination...
the Kingdom of Heaven.
~Peace~

Peace Within...Only From Him

 

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 14:19-28 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ John 14:27-31a ~~~

 

“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”

 

If we consider the many hardships of just the Blessed Mother Mary

and Joseph before Jesus was even born we see they had hardships.

It seems that if you want to be associated with Jesus

 expect to have a few challenges along the way.
Their joy was quickly tempered by their fleeing from a demented ruler.
How could anyone feel threatened by an infant?
Time after time those who follow Jesus are faced
with ridicule and false accusations.
It takes strong faith and conviction to face death for what you believe,
but we have many martyrs in the early church who did just that...
they gave their life to enter into the Kingdom of God. 

 

'...they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.'

 

 Our faith is built up by hearing the faith stories of others.
The more we hear the more likely we are to also believe.
We can see the enthusiasm of our peers...
those like us, and we too become inspired to a deeper faith.
 

Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

 

Do not be afraid to share your story of how God has worked in your life.
What may seem as insignificant to us may be just what someone else needs to hear.
Every time we share our story it serves as a reminder to ourselves.
A reminder of how God is alive and real.
How he is with us, present now in our life.
He always has been and he always will be...until the end of the ages.

In our world today it can be challenging to think of peace.
There seems to be more than enough reasons for us to doubt
the possibility of ever living in a peaceful world again.

It only takes a few minutes of watching the news
before we realize what a violent world we live in today.
We must be vigilant of our personal safety at all times.
And yet there is no way to protect oneself from senseless violence.

Jesus does give us peace, but as he says it is not the peace our world can give.
We must look for the peace from God within our soul.
This is where we will find the peace from him.
This interior peace, when cultivated, can calm us as
we live in this world of ours.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

 

 If you are living life to the best of your ability,
 the manner in which God has commanded,
 then you have no reason to have troubled hearts strangled with fear.

Many times in scripture we hear Jesus say...
be not afraid it is I.
Perhaps we should focus more intently on his peace on a regular basis.
Whenever I feel afraid I picture my guardian angel
enveloping me in his/her wings of protection.

The Peace from God is another Blessing of Easter
that we can meditate on today.
Look for ways to bring more peace into your life;
it is good for your soul.