Day Thirty Five: Focusing on Heaven in the Midst of a Storm
People are saying that "we'll get through this together" so many times that it has become a manta. I have to admit that I've gotten a bit irritated by this saying. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we shouldn't encourage one another through this horrible situation. Unfortunately what's happening is that people are thinking that they are going to get through it by sheer willpower. They have also distorted the message by moving the signposts to a point where many are ready to "throw in the towel."
The message that I would like everyone to focus on is that this is not our home. We are only passing through on our way to a better place. If you have been reading these blog posts, you probably noticed my longing to go home. What I may not have clarified is that I'm longing to go to my heavenly home. You might think that I'm maudlin for thinking this way. Yet when I focus on Heaven instead of this horrible world I get excited to go there. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (KJV) I read "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal." We can't see Heaven, but the Bible has many verses that describe it. Revelation 21 and 22 are beautiful passages of what Heaven will be like. In Heaven there will be no more death, no more sorrow or pain.
Focusing on Heaven in the midst of this storm has made it bearable for me. Ezekiel 28: 24-26 (KJV) paints a vivid picture of what the Lord will do for the House of Israel during a time period not too far in the future. Ezekiel 28 is a rather difficult chapter to understand until you realize that God is asserting his authority here. I read that "And there will be no more a prickling brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them: and they shall know that I am the Lord their God." We have seen this in recent times, yet some of the prophecies are yet to be fulfilled.
Isaiah 25:8(KJV) is the passage that Revelation 21:4 (KJV) mirrors. Here is the verses. Isaiah 25: 8 reads "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it." Revelation 21:4 states clearly that "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away."
I don't know about you, but I'm definitely looking forward to being in my Father's house. John 14:1-4 makes this precious promise: "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; If it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."
The key is that you must know Christ. It is only through him that you'll gain entrance to Heaven. Heaven is a wondrous place where sin and filth have no place. It is the sin of this world that drags people down. It is because man loves darkness and shuns the light that causes the stress and anxiety we're currently feeling right now with this dreaded disease. There are going to be some people that try to tell you that God would not allow this to happen, that I'm "full of it" to think that there isn't any consequences to our wickedness. They also sometimes question why God would allow this disease to wreck havoc with our economies and our lives.
I do believe that this time is meant to repent of our wickedness, and bring others to God's saving grace. When we focus on Heaven we give these people a reason to believe. In the midst of a storm is the perfect time to focus on Heaven.
The message that I would like everyone to focus on is that this is not our home. We are only passing through on our way to a better place. If you have been reading these blog posts, you probably noticed my longing to go home. What I may not have clarified is that I'm longing to go to my heavenly home. You might think that I'm maudlin for thinking this way. Yet when I focus on Heaven instead of this horrible world I get excited to go there. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (KJV) I read "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal." We can't see Heaven, but the Bible has many verses that describe it. Revelation 21 and 22 are beautiful passages of what Heaven will be like. In Heaven there will be no more death, no more sorrow or pain.
Focusing on Heaven in the midst of this storm has made it bearable for me. Ezekiel 28: 24-26 (KJV) paints a vivid picture of what the Lord will do for the House of Israel during a time period not too far in the future. Ezekiel 28 is a rather difficult chapter to understand until you realize that God is asserting his authority here. I read that "And there will be no more a prickling brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them: and they shall know that I am the Lord their God." We have seen this in recent times, yet some of the prophecies are yet to be fulfilled.
Isaiah 25:8(KJV) is the passage that Revelation 21:4 (KJV) mirrors. Here is the verses. Isaiah 25: 8 reads "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it." Revelation 21:4 states clearly that "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away."
I don't know about you, but I'm definitely looking forward to being in my Father's house. John 14:1-4 makes this precious promise: "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; If it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."
The key is that you must know Christ. It is only through him that you'll gain entrance to Heaven. Heaven is a wondrous place where sin and filth have no place. It is the sin of this world that drags people down. It is because man loves darkness and shuns the light that causes the stress and anxiety we're currently feeling right now with this dreaded disease. There are going to be some people that try to tell you that God would not allow this to happen, that I'm "full of it" to think that there isn't any consequences to our wickedness. They also sometimes question why God would allow this disease to wreck havoc with our economies and our lives.
I do believe that this time is meant to repent of our wickedness, and bring others to God's saving grace. When we focus on Heaven we give these people a reason to believe. In the midst of a storm is the perfect time to focus on Heaven.
Comments
Post a Comment