Beware the answer that comes too easily that has not been tempered by the cross of Christ. It goes down damnably fast to the inmost places, changing destinations meant for our enlightenment to ones meant only for our destruction. We know them by their price. Jesus leads us down paths that are difficult if our grip is on this life.

Answers to questions of direction that avoid the pain of letting go and offer us treasures that poison even as they fade is the economy of Satan. The Bride of Christ stands and waits for her Bridegroom’s arrival, and in the waiting, perseverance is born which will one day be exchanged for a crown.

Answers that stop the work of God in us for a placebo of lies short-sheets that perseverance making it an excuse for selfishness. It is an illusion of faith used for ill-gotten gains. The Bride of Christ stands and waits for her Bridegroom’s arrival. Fleeting desires rooted in this fading world are exposed and are traded for that which will endure.

Flowers are beautiful but are only meant for a season. Oak trees, however, stand for hundreds of years. The Bride of Christ stands and waits beneath Jesus’ tree that offers eternal life and whose fruit empties tombs setting the captives free. There is no power that compares to His.

Accept His love for you, it is the only answer we will ever need. It is the key to perseverance and will last longer than this world. Mightier than any oak tree, the cross of Christ stands and is the doorway that separates this life from the one to come.

The Bride of Christ stands and waits for her Bridegroom’s arrival. The prize we seek is worth more than anything here, for Jesus gives us our salvation.