Staying Strong

We did it! We applied. It was a difficult trip, and we did need two days to do it. They said to check back in 6-8 weeks. Please pray that the visas are authorized! It isn't guaranteed.

I was just thinking about how tired I am of this process. Then I read this:

Staying Strong
They returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith.Acts 14:21b-22In addition to some scientific definitions of "entropy," The American Heritage Dictionary also lists these: "a measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system; inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society." If you think of your life as a "closed system," you can easily see entropy at work: If left alone, does your life get increasingly more organized or increasingly more disorganized?In short, things just naturally run downhill. A large part of our life is spent maintaining things: our health, our property, our finances, and our relationships. Without injections of energy from us, they will deteriorate rapidly. And so will our spiritual life. Shortly after establishing new believers in the faith in towns in Asia Minor, Paul and Barnabas made a return trip to strengthen their faith, exhorting them to continue.Implication? They would naturally grow weak and discontinue their faith without efforts to the contrary. And so will we.Don't resent the work it takes to stay strong in the faith. The alternative is a faith so weak as to be unattractive and undesirable.All growth that is not towards God is growing to decay.
George MacDonald
Recommended Reading: Hebrews 10:24-25

Pray for us to stay strong!

Jesus promised His disciples three things: they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.
G. K. Chesterton