Bible Reading: Romans 8:22-24

Even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. Romans 8:23

For months the mission team from Sara’s church had been preparing for this day. In just a few more hours the bus would arrive at a town in northern Mexico. There the team would spend two weeks repairing a church building and sharing the love of Christ with as many people as possible. Sara couldn’t wait.

More than six months ago Sara had applied to take part in the mission trip. She had been through grueling fund-raising activities, wacky ways to make money fast. She had attended weekly meetings to prepare and pray. She had spent a half hour at her computer each night learning Spanish. And now she had endured a twenty-hour ride on a school bus. But she knew there was something ahead worth the work and the wait. Soon all her hard work would pay off.

Have you ever poured your heart into something—and then waited for all your effort to pay off? It’s like

• practicing the same football play over and over-then finally getting to use it in a game

• rehearsing a solo until you can sing a song backwards and forwards—then finally getting to perform

• studying until your head hurts—then finally getting to show off what you know on a test

• baking all day-then finally getting to eat the cake

Christ calls us to put our whole heart into following him. That can be difficult. But there’s something we look forward to that’s bigger and better than our dreams! God has promised that there will be a spectacular day when Christ returns to earth and takes us to be with him for eternity. There will be no more pain or suffering. We will live in heaven as God’s children. The whole world is waiting for God’s plan to come together.

Like a mom waiting to give birth, we can’t wait to take hold of the reward of our work. Obeying God can be hard. Following Jesus sometimes makes us tired. But God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us. And the great gifts that will be ours as God’s chil­dren are worth the wait!

TALK: Do you look forward to Christ’s return? What is the most exciting thing about it?

PRAY: God, it’s hard to wait for you to fix the things that hurt in our life. Thank you that you send your Holy Spirit to make us strong as we wait.

ACT: Encourage each other today to stay strong even when living as a Christian feels hard.

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