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Several of us Gracers recently finished up a Tuesday evening Bible study on Suffering and Comfort. One week out, and I miss the fellowship of that group of brothers and sisters, my friends. It is such a blessing to enjoy a group of fellow believers that prays together, listens, receives comfort from and comforts each other as we all spend time in the furnace of various afflictions as God molds us into the glorious image of His Son and draws us near in His comfort. None of that time in the furnace is meaningless.

Find this song, listen, relax. You are seen, known, and loved by the Father! His children are at rest. True rest. How rare, how beautiful. Our good for His glory. Are you resting today? Let me give you a definition before you answer. I’m not talking about whether you are tired. We all get tired every day. That’s just a biological fact. We start the day with a certain amount of energy, we burn that energy in our efforts throughout the day, we’re tired at the end, and we go to sleep to recharge our energy level for the next day.

No, I’m not quoting Tom Petty, although his song is now stuck in my head. Rather, I’m thinking about King Solomon, who acknowledged that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.” (Proverbs 13:12). Thank you Solomon for saying what we all feel from time to time. It’s just a fact. Waiting is hard. Sometimes sickening. Particularly when you’ve reached the point of losing hope that whatever you’re waiting for will occur. When the job you wanted doesn’t materialize, when the spouse you’ve dreamed of isn’t found, when the relationship isn’t restored, when the healing doesn’t happen, when the loved one doesn’t come to faith. When the time is up and the thing for which you were waiting did not going to occur.

Maybe I’m alone on this, but the concept of personal holiness is one of the subjects in our faith where, in my flesh, I would prefer not to talk about it. The fact that we, as believers, are to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Romans 12:1) is not my go-to line in polite conversation. Rather, this tends to be one of the areas where I am inclined to “help God out.”

When was the last time I experienced something pure? Unmodified. Unbiased. Unenhanced. No agenda, real and raw. True and sincere.