I don’t know about the average Joe, but I am plum weary. Too pooped to pop. Tuckered out. Dog-tired. Add to that frustrated, irritated, exasperated, fed-up and downright disgusted, and that pretty much describes my mindset these days. My email tells me I’m not alone. I’ll admit that IS some small consolation.
So what’s the problem? Well, to put it simply, it’s like I’m all dressed up with no place to go. I’m supposed to be a Bride and dang it all, I’ve spent considerable time and effort getting ready to meet my Groom. I’ve got on the silky undergarments, pretty hosiery; I put on the beautiful wedding dress, jewelry, shoes and expensive perfume.
My make-up is perfect. Every hair is in place. My veil is fixed securely and my bouquet of flowers is fresh. I spend hours every day gazing out my window, straining my eyes for any sign of my Groom; imagining every sound is that trumpet.
And…nada. Zip. Nothing. The world keeps spinning and people continue hurrying about their daily business, seemingly oblivious to the grand ceremony that’s scheduled. I’ve sent out thousands of invitations, but haven’t received many RSVP’S. At least I don’t have to worry about the nuptials themselves or the lavish banquet afterwards. My Groom is seeing to all that.
Maybe that’s why it seems He’s been delayed. He wanted His arrival to be a surprise, so He wouldn’t tell me exactly when He was coming. He just told me if I watched the signs, I’d know when to get ready. He said He deeply desires me to be ready to walk out the door, watching and waiting patiently for His arrival. Well, I’m getting tired of waiting. After all, this outfit is anything but comfortable!
Perhaps He’s putting the finishing touches on the tables and centerpieces, or maybe He’s having the last coat of paint applied to the mansion He’s built just for me. I don’t know what’s going on, but I tell you what, this situation is getting OLD.
Despite knowing full well my fiancé loves and adores me, there are times when I can’t help but wonder if He’ll ever show up at all! Will He really keep His promise to come get me? Doesn’t He understand how long the waiting is on MY end? Frankly, it’s starting to get depressing. I mean, seriously! Like it says in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
My hope is being deferred more each day, and I can feel my heart getting sicker and sicker. Oh, I trust His word, and know intellectually He’ll be back, but when your heart longs for your beloved, time is a major enemy. All I want in this whole, wide world is to be with Him. I really don’t care about anything else.
I KNOW there are a bazillion other ‘Brides’ out there who feel exactly the way I do; your heart aches to leave this place, and join your beloved in your new home. And it will happen. He promised He’d be back, and I believe His word, even though He’s slow as Christmas! The longing we feel isn’t just the emotional tie we have with Jesus. It also stems from the fact that we’re stuck here on this wretched planet, watching all that is good and just and pure swirl straight down the societal toilet!
Good heavens, look at the news just this week alone! Could BO be more exposed for the corrupt, incompetent, arrogant thug than he is right now? Well, come to think of it, we’re only seeing the tip of the cover-up iceberg. I’m sure there are more salacious, disgusting revelations to come in the days ahead. Funny how those of us who spoke the truth of what’s been going on were rudely labeled conspiracy theorists, until the ‘conspiracy’ affected the mainstream media!
Now, all of a sudden, they’ve woken up and realized they aren’t the administration’s prized pet after all. All this time, they’ve pandered and excused the White House occupant’s egregious offenses but now they see they aren’t exempt from his intrusive, illegal police state surveillance, and boy are they are hopping mad! Well, welcome to reality MSNBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, Huffington Post, New York Times, etc… Glad you could join the party. How does it feel to be violated like the rest of us, huh?
The depth and scope of corruption in this administration is breathtaking! The occupant makes Tricky Dick look like your bratty little cousin who rummaged around in your closet without permission. These people are, quite simply evil. To the core! They are directly responsible for the MURDER of four Americans, and have done their darndest to ignore, circumvent and dismantle the Constitution of the United States while trying to silence, using mafia-style intimidation tactics, those with the cajones to call them for what they are.
Ninety percent of them belong in handcuffs, and the remaining ten percent should be booted out of office so they can join the struggle to find gainful employment like so many Americans are. Well, heck…I can dream, can’t I?? Finally, the sheeple are beginning to realize the Emperor doesn’t have any clothes on.
Then, we’re forced to wade in the muck of additional States passing legislation legalizing sodomite marriages, while more horrifying details emerge about the atrocities committed by other abortion clinics around the country. “Dr.” Kermit Gosnell is in good company. Hey, nothing makes a Monday morning like leaving a newborn to drown in a filthy toilet, huh? Thank goodness the woman was able to choose!
Then, there’s the California father of four who was beaten to death on a street corner last week by NINE, count them, NINE police officers, wielding their batons, as he begged for his life. His crime? Possibly being intoxicated and laying down on the sidewalk, and arguing with one of the officers when told he was being arrested. That’s it. He wasn’t bothering anyone at all.
And for this heinous crime, he was tried, found guilty and executed in a cruel and unusual manner by adrenalin high, power mad cops, whose blood lust got the best of them. To make sure they wouldn’t have to answer for the murder of a defenseless man, they illegally confiscated the cell phones of witnesses who videotaped the killing. Unfortunately, this kind of disproportionate brutality by law enforcement is becoming all too common. Goodbye Officer Friendly. Hello, Gestapo.
Of course, I could go on and on ad nausea, but I won’t. We, the Bride, are painfully aware America’s moral compass is missing its needle. We’re getting fed up of being the brunt of endless mocking for our stubborn insistence on upholding Biblical principles, and being forced to witness the increasing rejection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this ever darkening time.
It hurts our heart to hear our Groom mocked and denigrated; His very name casually used as a curse. The world positively celebrates wickedness, while WE are called ‘monsters’ who ‘spiritually rape’ others when we dare share our faith. How completely absurd and nonsensical our society has become! Just living day to day is a constant fight against evil, and quite frankly, it’s exhausting at times.
David felt this way. Psalms 12: 1-4 records him lamenting to God, “Help Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They (the wicked) speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’”
Thank you Lord, for giving us Psalms! Every emotion we experience during our lives on this earth is expressed in that book. King David, a man after God’s own heart, got tired of having to listen to the lies and bull excrement his enemies spewed day after day. God heard him and promised in verse 7, “Thou shalt keep them (the righteous) O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.”
Now, that sounds nice for the future, but we still have to slog through this slimy sewage every day, as we occupy until He comes. In our desperation, we sometimes set our hope on a particular date, sign in the heavens or Jewish festival, only to be disappointed again and again, so it’s easy to slip into despair. After all, enough is enough and we’re only dust. We can only take so much. These are indeed perilous times for the Bride.
In Matthew 24:12, Jesus warned those of us who would live in these last days “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” THAT, my friend, is a very real danger. We have an extremely challenging situation to navigate here because we DON’T know exactly when He’ll snatch us home. There are a million and one theories based on this or that, and after a while, our head spins with confusion, trying to sort it all out!
We’re tired. We’re mocked and buffeted every day by human beings, as well as malevolent forces in the spiritual realm. The economy sucks. We’re constantly lied to by those in positions of power, and by people who are supposed to disseminate accurate information. Our unalienable rights are being assaulted in outrageous ways, by the MOST corrupt administration in the history of this country. There seems to be little hope, and fighting to maintain our witness for Christ is becoming more and more a suffocating struggle.
However, we have to remember this world isn’t all there is! It seems like we are going down to defeat because this existence is all we know. We’ve never glimpsed heaven or experienced our new, perfect bodies. All we’re familiar with is corruption, decay and death, but that’s not the whole story! We are NOT in a hopeless situation—not at all.
Jesus promised that His Bride is NOT destined to suffer the wrath to come. Those who love and serve Him, despite the challenges of these increasingly offensive days, are the victors. We who trust His word, who are watching and waiting for His return, have a fantastic promise to hold to. Our Groom knows we’re tired! He longs more tenderly for us than we do for Him!
Read what He tells us in Revelation 3: 8-11. “I know thy works: behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou has a little strength, and hast kept my word, and has not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
We who are mocked and derided for our witness; who are called names and accused of being bigoted, intolerant, hateful, homophobic, narrow-minded, blah, blah, blah, WILL be vindicated by our Lord! If the things we hear and see every day wear us down, can you imagine the stench it must be in the nostrils of God? Yes, He is patient, but even HE has limits as to how much He’ll take without meting out His judgment.
I think the Lord cherishes the church because the only thing we have to hold to is faith; blind, walking in the dark, listening to the voice of God, faith. The patriarchs in the Old Testament saw and heard physical manifestations of God, which made it easy to believe God’s word. The apostles and followers of Jesus had first-hand experience with the Son of God, and witnessed incredible signs and wonders.
But all we, in the church age have to stand on is the Word of God. We are creatures designed to navigate our world through our five senses. How many times have you heard someone say, “If I can’t see or touch it, I’m not going to believe it!” Remember Thomas? He refused to believe the disciples had literally seen a risen Jesus. Only when Jesus appeared at a time when he was present and allowed Thomas to touch Him, was he convinced.
But what did Jesus tell him? John 20: 29 “Jesus saith unto him, ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
Our faith and trust that He will keep His promises, despite the fact we have NO physical evidence, means everything to Him! Psalm 138: 2 “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
A person’s character and integrity determine his reputation and has direct bearing on whether his name is respected or not. God wants us to completely trust in His Holy character and the promises He’s made, because if we don’t, we denigrate His name. Not only does this insult the God of the universe, it hurts His feelings!
Although we, the Bride, have never seen Jesus or physically heard His voice, we can rest assured He WILL keep the wonderful promises He made to us! John 14: 1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
There. Is that clear enough? He WILL come for us, just as He vowed. His Bride is NOT destined for the wrath to come. Because we’ve kept the word of His patience, He will keep us from the hour of temptation that is coming on the earth. And because the church/Bride has had to lean on blind faith in the integrity of God’s Word and His name, we are the ones who will have the high honor of living in the sparkling jewel of the New Jerusalem! THAT is how God rewards those who believe what He says.
So, touch up that make-up, brush your hair, smooth out that wedding dress, and keep looking out the window for our Groom. Buck up. Don’t get your garter in a twist, and don’t allow your love for Him to grow cold! He knows we’re tired. He’s well aware of what we’re contending with on this sin-sick world, and He WILL snatch us home very soon. He promised He would, and that’s that!
Maranatha, Lord Jesus!
author: bensmomi99@gmail.com