Greetings All, This weeks "thought" has to do with believers recapturing an eternal perspective and how doing that strengthens us to face the difficulties of life.  Over and over again I have found that people who live life in the ever-conscious awareness or unshakable conviction that the scriptural promises of eternity are real, face hardships, grief, suffering and loss so much better. And that's not all. A healthy conviction of the reality of the eternal is also essential to growth in godliness. Viewing things in light of eternity helps remind us that our life is but a vapor -- like the mist that hovers over a field in the early morning and is gone shortly after the sun rises (Psalm 103:15-16 / Isaiah 40:7-8 / James 4:14). So much of what people clamor after, and get so upset about, and cling to, and fight for in this world would be seen for what it actually is (so ridiculous, insignificant and unnecessary) if only people would pause to consider it in light of eternity. The person who would resist the temptation to accumulate temporal possessions or indulge in worldly pleasures must regularly pause and ask: "Is this even worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed? Compared to my call to honor God, in whose presence I will spend eternity, why am I even allowing this insignificant thing to allure me?" This thought comes to you from the book: "Through a Season of Grief," by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard. Enjoy!  "Faith not only empowers you to get through your difficulties, but it also assures you of a coming day when tears and sorrows are no more. Faith recognizes that this world is not your ultimate home... Know that you were created for a different home, a better home, an eternal home with God. This life here is not all there is. 'Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.' (II Cor. 5:1). When you begin to see heaven as your true home, you can develop an eternal perspective that sees all sorrows as passing. 'It is possible to trust God in all things,' says Dr. Joseph Stowell. 'You may have a hard time getting there, but you won't get there unless you believe in the world to come. If this is all you have, if it's just this world, then bitterness is your only option. But if you believe that there is a God who is higher than you are, and wiser than you are, and He has a world prepared for you where all Christians will be together again and be with Him in absolute joy and bliss, than that brings strength to your sorrow.' 
Heavenly Father, may I fix my eyes on You and not get dragged down by the struggles within me and around me. Please give me a taste of what is to come so I can make it through... I trust that You will someday bring me home to live in heaven with You. For now, I need to try and look at my sorrows in light of eternity. The things of this world are much clearer when I have a higher perspective."
Because eternity matters, Pastor Jeff Dr. Jeffrey F. Evans |
