Enduring Hearts

Although a distance runner in my younger years, I was able to outrun a few. Do you realize how foolish it is to imagine we can outrun or even leave behind the stresses of this life? Consider those eleven disciples who, as instructed by Jesus, gathered on the Galilean mountain; perhaps they imagined worst days past and their resurrected Friend and Messiah leading them on to better days. Instead, before He ascends into the heavens, Jesus said to them: "Lo, I am with you always." (Matthew 28:20). Jesus knew the troubles to come for those eleven and for us. He knew exactly how Satan would tantalize our hearts with so many distractions, hindering our focus on The Ever-Same, Ever-With-Us Christ. Charles Spurgeon challenges Believers: "O my soul, set not thine affections upon rusting, moth-eaten, decaying treasures, but set thine heart upon Him Who abides for ever faithful to thee." Affections set on fleeting things soon run as dry as a pipeline without the necessary flow of gas! After Jesus' words to His disciples, know what they did? "Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." (Luke 24:52-53). What they did flowed from hearts that had genuinely absorbed His words, "I am with you always." Consider in what or in whom is your deepest trust and treasure. Hearts affectionately set on Christ endure ... those hearts run the distance!