I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I, myself, will see Him with my own eyes.
Job 19:25-27
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This has been a hard week. Tears have been shed by all of us as our family has had to say goodbye to our sweet cats that have been with us for almost twelve years. And it has me thinking of the awesome place that we will go when we leave this earth…Heaven.
Every one of the characters in the Bible couldn’t wait to see God and Job was no different. He was in such anguish when He said those words in the verse above. He knew that one day his body would grow old and die but that He would see God face to face. And so will we.
As human beings, we will be resurrected, standing, kneeling, walking and talking people. Doesn’t that bring you hope? God is our greatest gift and His presence brings satisfaction.
As a deer pants for water, so my soul pants for You, o God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
Psalms 42:1-2
What do you long for when you have a hard week? When you think that you cannot do this one more day, what keeps you going? Here’s a story you might relate to….
In 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, California. She wanted to swim to the mainland. She was an experienced swimmer and had already swam the English Channel. The weather that day was foggy and chilly, and she could hardly see the boats that were along side of her. Still, she continued to swim for 15 hours. When she began to beg to be taken out, her mother encouraged her and told her that she was close and that she could make it. Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, Florence stopped swimming and was pulled out. It wasn’t until she was aboard the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away. The next day, at a news conference, she said, “All I could see was the fog…I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”
What if you could ‘see the shore’ on your hard days? What if you could take your eyes off the fog in front of you and strain to see the place where God is. I am pretty sure that we could make it a bit longer, right? We have God cheering us on, all the way, He is in the boat alongside you, telling you that you are almost there. And one day, He will say “Well done!”. And we will be with Him for all eternity!
I end with an amazing verse…
One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me Heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
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Let us pray: Dear God, thank You for giving us the hope of being in Heaven with You. And for all the promises in Your Word that daily get us through the hard stuff. Lord, sometimes we get our eyes stuck on the fog that is ahead and take our eyes off of You. Please guide us back to the path that leads to You. Remind us that there is a beautiful prize at the end of this hard life—and it is You. We love You and praise You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
