"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, 'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth . . . ' "
Things can get pretty rough down here. Isn't it great, to know that God your Heavenly Father is Lord of heaven "and *earth*"? Whatever difficulties you are experiencing--no matter how real and hard they are--they are nonetheless under the watchful providential sovereignty of your Heavenly Father.
Ours is not some "stale" deity. Instead, the Lord of heaven and earth loves you, His churchmen, more than you can imagine. He cares for you much more than you care for yourselves (or for your loved ones). Jesus "thanked" and praised His Father; let us do the same--even in difficult times.
[Puritan quote of the day: "The church is the fitting place for glory. We enter into heaven in the church here." --Richard Sibbes, in "Glorious Freedom"]
