"When Judas had left them, Jesus said, ": Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once. My children, '1 will be with you only a little while longer. '1 give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

Are you confident that God is watching you, listening to your words, and searching your heart during times of difficulty or making a request? It’s not that uncommon to hear people say that sometimes they feel their prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and cannot explain why or how this could be happening. These times of spiritual discouragement are fairly common, but it does not mean that our messages are going to voicemail.

Soon after Jesus had resurrected, we find a beautiful passage found in John chapter 20 that is a wonderful example of how much God loves us and wants to encourage us. The friends and family of Christ were gathered together after his horrific crucifixion and were still grieving over his death when all of a sudden, he appears in their midst! Even though they remembered how he had promised to return I’m sure they were still awestruck.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, *

and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.

For behold, darkness covers the land; *

deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.

But over you the Lord will rise, *

and his glory will appear upon you.

Nations will stream to your light, *

and kings to the brightness of your dawning.