It will be gone. ⁣

Have you cried recently?

There will be no need. ⁣

Do you ever experience pain?

There will be no more. ⁣

Have you dealt with death?

Completely gone. ⁣

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

It’s hard even to imagine that. ⁣

And yet, it sounds like exactly what I desire the most. ⁣

Pain and sorrow will be gone. ⁣

And in their place, the loving embrace of my God as I dwell with Him in His presence! ⁣

What would I be willing to sacrifice right now to gain this blessing someday?⁣

Absolutely anything.

I’ve got to endure the tears, the pain, the heartache, the death for now.

And even though it can feel brutal and crushing, I know that my God isn’t waiting for some future day to bring peace into my life.

I don’t have to completely delay any sense of peace, joy, or calm in this life.

God sees my tears.

Jesus wept.

He helps me endure with a little more joy.

He helps bring me relief that refreshes me to keep going.

He helps send peace into my life during chaotic times.

God helps us ease our lowest points now.

And someday, He will sit upon His throne and wipe away any reason for sorrow in the first place.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Wipe away all tears first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He was sitting on the couch, extremely grumpy and upset.

Someone was coming over soon, and so I wanted to clean up the counters and sweep the floors from our messy breakfast.

But I stopped and looked at my kid.

“Go and comfort him.”

The thought came to my mind.

I’ve been trying to do better at following every little thought that I think, so I set down the stuff I was carrying from the counter.

“I should bring him a snack.”

He loves cheese sticks, so I grabbed a cheese stick from the fridge and walked over.

“Can I cuddle with you for a bit?”

He looked at me pretty grumpily and said “No” right away…

But then he paused and said, “Actually yeah”.

I gave him the cheese stick, he ate it, and we just cuddled.

And honestly I didn’t care about the messy floor and cluttered counter when the visitor arrived shortly after.

My kid needed comfort, and I knew that a snack and some cuddles were all I could do at the moment.

John taught about how Jesus would treat those who come to Him:

“For the Lamb… shall feed them,… and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”. (Revelation 7:17)

He will feed them.

And He will wipe away all tears.

I know, I know, the scripture is probably referring to spiritual nourishment.

But I can’t help but think about the loving, tender, caring act of literally feeding someone.

Preparing a meal you know they’ll love.

Grabbing their favorite treat.

Nursing an always-hungry infant. 

When we stop to feed (in all definitions of the word) and care for the people around us, we can serve as the Savior served, and as He will serve.

It takes some effort in a busy world where there’s always something on our list.

But I’ve never regretted time I’ve spent feeding and comforting.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A cheese stick and some cuddles  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.