As a Christian, you have a brighter future than you can possibly imagine. A friendly reminder that you have a beautiful home in heaven to look forward to – you’re almost there.
I’m Joni Eareckson Tada sharing hope and today, my heart is set on home.
I spoke with my sister on the phone the other day, and I asked how things were going on the farm back in Maryland. It was hard to hear the struggle in her voice, as she’s having some memory issues. She’s also dealing with pain and so she isn’t really up for going out and working in the garden. As I listened to my precious sister, I would have given anything to jump out of my wheelchair, pack a suitcase, hop on a plane to Maryland so I could help her. But I can’t; my quadriplegia has its own set of problems. But, oh, my conversation with my sister made me, well, a little homesick. Home has always had a powerful pull on my heart, but the urge to go home is always greater when a family member is in need. And sure, I realize I’ve lived in California for well over 40 years, and I’ve met and married my husband here, but I still think of our family farmhouse as home.
And I wonder what that word home means to you. I mean, think of the times when you’re nearing the end of a long, tiring trip. Maybe it’s a familiar freeway exit, with home just five minutes away. Maybe it’s that last quarter mile of a backpacking trip, and your car is waiting in the parking lot to return you to civilization – and a hot shower! You just can’t wait to get home. Just knowing it’s near can add the stamina you need to keep going. And so it is when we consider heaven. Every step, every day, every moment brings us closer. And just knowing our glorious home is right around the corner, it gives us – well, it certainly gives me fresh courage to face the day.
And I’m not talking about some pie-in-the-sky, romantic sentiment about heaven. When our lives are filled with disappointment or some other sort of painful situation, it is only heaven that helps us make sense of it all. For you, as a Christian, have the promise that one day, God is going to give you the key that that’s going to unlock sense out of all your senseless sufferings. Only in heaven will you see the reality of Romans 8:28, and how everything – absolutely everything – was used of God to fit into a grand pattern for good in your life. One day you will understand the purpose behind your most distressing trials; you will see all the good that happened leading up to that trial and all the good flowing from it. And, oh the joy! No wonder I long for home – my heavenly home – in this wheelchair. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Let us press forward to that which is before, leaving earth and earthly matters more and more, and yielding ourselves more fully to the cords that draw us towards the celestial country. Let us cry, ‘Heavenward, ho!’ Pull up the anchor, spread the sails, and let us go away to the fair country wither Jesus has gone before us."
So, whatever is disappointing you today [maybe a loved one with memory issues or early dementia] or perhaps it’s a recent injury or illness that has set you back. Remember that as a Christian, you have a brighter future than you can possibly imagine. And you are almost home. What could be sweeter than to be on your way home? So pray with me, “Dear Jesus, I ask you to walk with us. And please, if we are struggling with disappointment today, let us feel your hand on our hearts. And if we falter, remind us that heaven, our home, is near and that you are nearer still.” God bless you today and thanks for listening.
© Joni and Friends