PRESENT PRESENCE

“Don’t look at the troubles you can see now; rather, fix your gaze on things that cannot be seen” (adapted 2 Corinthians 4:18). Christ-follower you are to be by nature forward looking and forward reaching. Your goal, by running the race of life, is a prize, a crown of righteousness, a crown of life, a crown of never-ending glory and honor all because your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, first wore a crown of thorns. It is clear that while we live in hope now for joy unspeakable inspired by Eternal love, the future is seen with a faith that is daily nourished by the present presence of the Spirit.

What does the eye of daily nourished faith see when looking into the future? Sinless existence! We are made perfect to participate in the inheritance of the saints of God! All the misery of a life of sin gives way as we make our assent to the summit standing ready to enter heaven through those pearly gates—with arms open wide—to be crowned conquerors by Christ, the King of Glory.

This gaze to the future should give some relief to the darkness of your past and the sadness of your present situation. The joys of heaven should always be able to trump the sad sorrows of this life—if you will just look forward! 

Some are thinking the road is way too long and there’s no time to look ahead. I would like to ask you; “What did the monkey say when he got his tail caught in the lawn mower?”….. Wait for it! … Here it comes! … He said, “It won’t be long now!” The truth of your situation is that your road, in reality, is short and so is your time.  It won’t be long now when eternity will soon be yours—now, that is the long road filled with endless time.
 
Holy Spirit thank you that here in my present state of affairs you are with me to open my eyes to my future. For when this world tries to tear my heart far from your presence I can let my heaviest cares ascend to heaven where my faith’s gaze sees what my present senses cannot—past my troubled storms to my home just over the hilltop in that land of cloudless days. Thank you for your present presence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.   Although this rule was first applied in Italy when Pareto was looking at the dispersal of wealth, it has since become a rule of thumb for many businesses.   It has been said that 20% of your workforce does 80% of the work, or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.   I think this law comes into play in our lives as well.   Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% what you make of it. There are tons of stories about people who come out of difficult situations — gang life, in and out of jail, drug addiction, broken families, abuse – yet still seem to rise to the top.   And of course, there are many stories of those who have been given...
Read more

Control Yourself

When it comes to our life, we have nothing to say about our birth and little say about our death, but in between these two events most of the decisions are ours to be made. Are you letting life and circumstances control you, or are you controlling your own life and destiny with God’s help. Don't let life pass you by when you have the God-given ability to make things happen. I've heard it said: You can't control the length of your life, but you can control its use. You can't control your facial appearance, but you can control its expression. You can't control the weather, but you can control the moral atmosphere that surrounds you. You can't control the distance of your head above the ground, but you can control the height of the contents in your head. You can't control the other fellow's annoying faults, but you can see to it that you do not develop similar faults. Why worry about things you cannot cont...
Read more

Bounce Back

As a 7th grader in junior high school, I was devastated when I was cut from the starting 8th grade football team and sent to the second team.   I felt disappointed, embarrassed and dejected.   Latter that week, I spoke with my grandfather who passed on these words of wisdom, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce back that matters.”   I took those words to heart. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” I valued his wise words and committed to doing my best for this second string team, instead of pouting and complaining over my sense of failure. I committed to working hard, giving my all to bounce back. It served me well as I entered high school and played on two state championship teams. I learned that day that what happens to me in life doesn’t count as much as how I react to those things.   I had a choice the day I was cut from the team—I could wallow in misery and quit the team, or I ...
Read more