I am blessed in the midst of monotony. I have so much to take hope in. When all seems the same yet another day, I take comfort knowing all that I have to anticipate. When I hit a wall, and all is stagnant; no progress made, no motion at all, I take heart, I take joy in all that the Lord is doing.

 When we feel only stuck, I know the Spirit is at work. I trust that He is unrelenting. In the time, in the process, in the wait is found unmeasurable growth--preparation. Difficult to see, as it is, while we are in the midst of it, I know it is God's tool in our life. I am certain that He is unrelenting. He will continue this work, even when it seems as though all work has ceased. In the wait there is progress, there is motion, there is hope.

At times the time itself is our darkness. As we think of what we originally planned, thought to be the way it should go, we almost laugh now, in fact we do. Oh, what we though we knew. What we didn't know. What we have yet to learn. The learning requires the wait.

Our desire is an ocean away. Held up in a whole different culture, another world where certainly great darkness awaits us. Romanticized as it is at times in our minds, this distant land, another life of adventure, there lies the challenge--the biggest, most difficult challenges we have yet to face. There in that whole new land, existent now but not yet our reality, in that land lies a darkness we cannot fathom, one we can only imagine to the smallest extent. That which we long for will be our great discouragement. We've been told this, we've been warned. Our adventurous spirits, our excitement drives us to press on and overcome.

We know, however, that adventure is short-lived; excitement evaporates with circumstance. We will overcome only through Him Who overcame. He is unrelenting, our Savior. With our without us, He will save souls. He was unrelenting as those closest to Him forsook Him--turned their backs and betrayed Him. He was unrelenting as blood spilled from his wrists, His forehead, and finally His side. He was unrelenting when His greatest darkness overtook Him, when His own Father turned away. He is unrelenting still, desiring that His greatest sacrifice will not go without cause, but that those He came to save will be saved indeed. With or without us, He is unrelenting.

We only pray He grants us the grace that we, also, may be unrelenting to see this work done. Unrelenting in the wait, to know Him more, and see those here come to know Him more. Unrelenting here, or in a distant land, unrelenting wherever He has us to make His name known. To have the same spirit of boldness--His very Spirit of boldness which the apostles in the early church prayed for and received.

"And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness." Acts 4:29

May we be unrelenting in this prayer.

"...and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." Acts 4:31

May He be unrelenting in pouring out His Spirit.

"And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33

 

May He be unrelenting in pouring out His grace as we wait and as we go--as we speak His name.