On the night before he was betrayed, Jesus was talking about leaving the disciples, about how bad they were feeling that he was going to the father. And he comforts them by saying, you are not alone.

You will go through hard times. You will not be alone. You will face the persecution I’ve talked about. You will not be alone. You will still have illness and death, you will have pain and miracles, you will have confusion and hard work and questions. You will not be alone.

Between the answers, we are not alone.

In addition to the promise of direction and the promise of presence, we have the promise of future meaning.

Our reading from Revelation this morning talks about a time when we will be able to see God face to face, when we will be able to walk with God unapologetically, unencumbered by questions and pain, undistracted, unworried. We will be able to not struggle so hard to find answers because we will be completely present.

In fact, as I think about it, the focus isn’t being healed so we can do our work. The focus is on being present with God.

Our lack of awareness of God’s work behind the scenes doesn’t mean there isn’t work. It simply means we are not able to understand it. We are invited to trust that it is true. To make plans. To listen. To rest in meaning sometime.