February 9, 2022

“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

Over the last several years I have been dealing with a lot of health problems; some serious. It seems like I went from indestructible to frail within a few short years. It has been frustrating to make many attempts to change habits in order to improve my health but realize that my body is still wasting away. No matter how hard I try to go back to who I used to be, the truth is, you can’t stop time. This is a reality that has been hard for me to accept.

But I have recently come to the realization (admittedly one I should have grasped long ago) that as my body wastes away, my treasure in heaven can increase exponentially every day. I have been frustrated and sometimes depressed about the temporary things and lost my focus on the things of eternity. With every day that I commit my frail earthly body to the ministry of Christ, my eternity grows stronger. For much of my life I have prided myself in my physical strength. Unfortunately, that is exactly what it was; pride. I had been treasuring the temporary instead keeping my heart in heaven. Brothers and sisters I implore you, don’t make God put you through trials in order to teach you this lesson. Put your heart in heaven now!

Heavenly Father, thank You for the trials. Thank You for doing whatever it takes to keep my eyes on eternity and put my heart in heaven. I commit my temporary body to Your eternal purposes. Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon