LAZINESS

How can I stay motivated when Christ's return seems so far away?

God's Response:
Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. We are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight. And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved.
2 Peter 3:11-15

Our Takeaway:
When we're waiting for something that takes a long time, it's easy to begin to "slack off" and not wait as actively as we did at first. But Christ does not want us to become lazy and complacent just because he has not yet returned. Instead, we should live in eager expectation of His coming.

What would you like to be doing when Christ returns? That is how we should be living each day.

God's Challenge:
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
James 5:7-8

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I don't know about you, but have have a problem with patience. Patience is something I have never done very well and even now that I have a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life, it's still my biggest struggle and probably more than ever.

One of the most challenging components for me about living patiently in Christ Likeness, is that we still have to live in a fallen and instantaneous world. How do we remain patient with all the resistance in this microwave society we live?

James began his letter above by telling about the results of perseverance - maturity and completeness. I believe that the key to patience can only be learned through experiencing the trails God has planned or allows for each of us. I trust that we have to weather through the storms of life and it will be through these trials that God reveals His greatest treasures.
James 1:2-4

Paul tells us: "We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produces patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts".
Romans 5:3-5

Let endurance and perseverance in life's most difficult moments have its perfect result in you; look for all God's gifts in the midst of the storm!