“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has ever conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Corinthians 2:9).
I recently read the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. This topic can give me hope and encouragement for my eternal future. However, I can also focus too intently on “going home”. Initially I found myself doing that, yet as I continued reading, God changed my perspective on my earthly life while yearning for my heavenly one.
I constantly face negative thoughts and emotions concerning my limitations. I mourn the loss of old abilities and new activities. As I dwelt on those thoughts, God reminded me of a wonderful truth. I will have an endless eternity to enjoy those things and much more. When I think of the places I would like to visit now, they cannot compare to the beauty I will see daily on the new earth. When I think of the gardening I would love to do, I know that the flowers I grow on the new earth will be more incredibly beautiful than any here. I will experience all this and more in a perfect, pain-free body, and the Lord Jesus will be there enjoying it with me.
Everything that God brings into my life on this earth is for a purpose. There are lessons I need to learn, traits I need to strengthen and develop, and work I have been given to do here and now. God knows that all of these things are necessary training for the wonderful life that lies ahead.
There will still be moments when I struggle with my desires. Yet by God’s grace and power, I can move on to that eternal perspective. There will come a time when these days of suffering are only a distant memory. Now they are preparing me for an unending life with God that is beyond my most wonderful imaginings.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the blessed hope of my eternal future. Remind me that the losses I grieve now are only shadows of the glories to come, and help me to willingly accept the ways You choose to prepare me for those wonders. Amen.
I learned of you on the Chronic Illness Devotional website and decided to check out your blog. Your writing is uplifting and your website is peaceful and calming. We share similar interests and I was amazed at how we choose to write about a lot of the same Bible passages. I am so glad I found you! Blessings, Linda http://natureofgrace.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThis post is so much of what I often battle, the desire to dwell in the heavens, and the desire to fullfill my earthly purpose. Thank you for expressing it so well through your writing.
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