"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

This world is a place of suffering. Our lives are often spent in hours, days, and even years of suffering and pain.

Many people are daily acquainted with intense pain. How can we possibly cope?

Our God promises an eternity free from tears, death, sorrow, and pain. We have hope of a pain free existence before us. This is what kept Jesus true to his path of sacrifice of for us: "...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." (Hebrews 12:2)

All this may seem like small comfort to those currently enduring pain. Pain seems to overshadow all other thoughts, all other pursuits, and shout over the good news of our coming redemption.

So then, in our pain, let's cry out to Jesus and praise our heavenly Father, who will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Before David became the king of Israel, he was hunted by Saul and many other enemies. He had to wander, and had no permanent place of safety. Because of this he learned to put his trust in God, who became his refuge and his comfort. God became his place of safety. God became the One who kept him and rescued him.

And God became the One who heard and understood all of the turmoil in David's heart.

At one time the Philistines had David in their power, and he wrote this Psalm:

"Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you." (Psalm 56:3)

Fear, sorrow, and trouble plagued David's life; but he knew that he could always turn to his heavenly Father.

"You number my wanderings; put tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?" (Psalm 56:8)

Dear saint, there is a bottle in heaven with your name on it, and it is filled with your tears. Because, like David, God really cares for you. He will bring you through your wanderings and your troubles and your fears into a place of safety and fulfillment.

Christians may have many fears, but the Lord answers them all in His word.

For example, we may fear that we really belong to Him. To this the Lord says: "...fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1)

Although this was spoken to Israel, we can believe this promise because we have been grafted into believing Israel: "...and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree." (Romans 11:17)

Therefore, we can with confidence believe the Lord to answer this and other fears we may have with His promises. For although we are promised trouble in this life, we are also promised the Lord's continual help and presence.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you." (Isaiah 43:2)

When Paul came to Ephesus he found twelve disciples. He asked them, "did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

They answered, "we have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

They went on to say that they had been baptized by John. Paul told them that John's baptism was a baptism of repentance, but that they needed to believe in Jesus, who came after John.

Paul then baptized them in the name of Jesus and laid hands on them.

"The Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied."
(Acts 19:1-6)

If you, like these twelve men, believe in Jesus, then you are a candidate to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You don't have to do anything special: you just have to ask!

"For everyone you asks receives...if a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ...If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" (Luke 11:10-13)

Matthew 12:46-50
While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Few relationships are closer than family; yet Jesus invites us to enjoy this close relationship with Him. How do we have that relationship? We must do the will of the heavenly Father.

Most humans are reluctant to give control of their lives over to God. Maybe our fears sound like this: 'What is God asks me to do something hard? Or something I don't want to do? What if He asks me to go somewhere I don't want to go?'

If this mirrors your thoughts, but you want to be close to Jesus, then begin by praying this simple prayer: "Lord, make me willing to be willing to do Your will."

In the book of Haggai, the Lord told the people to consider their ways: 'you have sown much and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.'
Why was this happening to the Jewish people? Because they had neglected the building of the temple. "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses,' asks the Lord, 'and this temple to lie in ruins?'
Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,' says the Lord.
What is the temple of the Lord today? 'You are the temple of the living God.'   (I Corinthians 3:16)
As God's people, are we prioritizing the Lord's work in us, His temple? Are we spending time in His presence? Are we building up our faith by reading His word?
And are we putting out interests above His? What is the Lord's interest and what is His will? That none should be lost, but that 'all come to repentance.' (II Peter 3:9)

Every day Moses would go to a tent outside the camp of the Israelites. It was called the tent of meeting, because there Moses would meet with God. Everyone knew when Moses was in the tent because the cloud of God's presence would descend upon the tent and 'the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.'

Afterwards, the face of Moses would shine, having been in the presence of the Lord.

We are likewise called to come apart from others and go meet God regularly. Jesus said "when you pray, go into your closet and shut the door and pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

Like Moses, your face will shine: your countenance will be improved by this encounter with God; your spirit and disposition will be lifted up; your attitude will be changed for the better.
Erect a tent of meeting with God; go there regularly and begin to see your life change!

We are all enamored with the idea of love.  The number one thing that people search after is to be loved.  We want others to love us for "who we are" in spite of our shortcomings and not put restrictions or conditions on that love.  We expect them to overlook our human inadequacies and give us grace in those moments.  In contrast we do not offer the same love to others.  We are quick to get offended and judge others when they have unloving moments towards us.  We seem to have high expectations of others to love us while at the same time we we excuse our own selves to have that same responsibility.  Grace is easy to accept but more difficult to give.  
One of my favorite verses is found in I Peter 4:7-8 (amplified).  "But the end and culmination of all things has now come near, keep sound minded and self-restrained and alert therefore for the [practice of] prayer.  Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offense of others]"
The reality is that we are all human with human failings and need to receive grace from God as well as grace from others.  
I have a little plaque on my wall that was given to me by a friend a few years ago.  It says...

Just think what could happen with our relationships to others if we put that into practice.  Lets all purpose to truly love others the way we want to be loved.  
Lord, help us to love like You!