All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. Hebrews 11:39
I’ve been thinking the last couple days how sometimes our circumstances in this life just never improve.
A marriage that never finds peace. Poor that never get fed. Sick that are never healed. Grief that is never quenched. Sorrow that is never salved. Conflict that is never resolved. A heart that never mends.
I wonder how are we supposed to survive. How do we remain? How do we even get out of bed in the morning let alone function normally in our day-to-day life?
This morning I woke up and my first thought of the day was remembering climbing out of the ambulance that carried my dead child. I came around the corner and fell into the arms of the nurse, my neighbor. That was my first waking thought today.
How did I survive that moment or one day after it? How have I found strength to live, to smile, to laugh and love? The sorrow is still there. It is still raw at moments like this. I weep as I type these words. How can I keep going even when it still hurts?
All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11
Heaven. I live for a purpose that is not on this earth. I hope for day when I live without death. I am a stranger in this land that is just not my own. I am not ashamed to be called God’s child, but I am more thankful that he is not ashamed to be called my God.
God did not spare my son’s earthly life that night. He may not heal your disease, your broken heart or your pain. But even if, even if that is the case, there is a bigger “IF.” If you die anchored in the promises, get ready. Get ready to be blown away. Get ready for the City of God. I have complete faith that our first moment in that city will eclipse all of our earthly trouble.
So hang on tight. Don’t let go today. Grab that promise and plant it where you stand. Let it dig roots. Let it bear fruit of faith and a life of joy as we wait just little longer for the country we can call our own.
