A better home is coming, but there’s so much to do with this one
By Dean Collins
When taking certain personality surveys, I tend to score consistently as one who thinks strategically with my eye on the future. This can be very helpful when leading a team or organization. However, there is a downside. As I contemplate strategy and the future I also see many of the potential problems that might come with a given strategy. On a good day I am able to trust that in each of the difficulties God will walk with me and provide help and protection. On a bad day I might get stuck dwelling on all of the what-ifs I have imagined in my head!
Perspective
Reading 2 Corinthians 5 is very helpful for my situation. I suspect it can be helpful to you as well. Paul reminds us that we have two homes. We live here in the body we are born with, and we have a home waiting for us when our current home gives out. Our second home lasts forever and is in the presence of God where we will literally come face-to-face with the One who loves us and formed us in his image. It is worth taking a breath to consider that eventual moment!
Back to this moment. Living here can be filled with lots of joy, love, opportunity, and blessings. But living here also includes burdens, sickness, opposition, and a variety of problems we did not create but still must navigate. Paul spent several verses discussing these realities but left us some encouraging words to guide us.
“We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
One problem we have is that we would generally prefer to walk a path where we can see exactly what we are up against and what is coming toward us. But you have likely noticed that we do not always get to see what’s coming. And sometimes when we do see it we have no idea how we will navigate, so we assume the worst. Sometimes when we see difficult situations our default is to imagine the worst possible outcome. Can anyone relate?!
Courage
Paul’s instructions for such a moment (and frankly for all moments) is this: Be of good courage. And he gives us a strategy: Aim to please the Lord. We can’t control all of the challenges and opposition we will face. Paul lived that reality daily. There were many in the church in Corinth who opposed Paul, tried to disqualify and discredit him, did not like his approach, and strategized against him. While Paul defended himself, he also surrendered himself and his opponents. He chose to trust God and in faith do the right thing, believing that God is the ultimate judge.
Often we want the ultimate judge to deal with everything in the here and now, and it doesn't actually work like that. God has an eternal time frame, and we generally stay stuck in the here and now.
Worship
Psalm 92 also offers some guidance. The opening line of the psalm says this: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High.” We get the idea that maybe the psalmist is reminding us about the importance of corporate worship, including singing. We know that to be important. But we must not forget that there is personal wellbeing that comes from taking time each day to worship.
You may not have a good voice or be able to carry a tune in a bucket as they say. But you can declare praise to God. And if all else fails or you feel too weak and tired or discouraged, then take a moment to listen to a song that declares praise to God. You will find that this practice can ground you and encourage you in your walking by faith and not by sight.
Flourishing
In the middle of Psalm 92, we read about difficulty and even enemies the psalmist recalled. But as we get to the end of this psalm, we are reminded that if we stay steadfast, we will see flourishing. The promise even speaks to some of us who realize we are getting older: “They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
Pardon my crassness but let me make my point this way: Some of those opposing you may think you’re full of something other than sap. But the psalmist reminds us that when we take courage, walk by faith, and are led by the Spirit of God, we will in fact be full of sap and flourish as rich green plants and trees—even until the end of our lives in the home of our physical bodies. And one day, one that does come sooner than we might realize, we will flourish forever in the house of God.
So today no matter what is going on, declare or sing praise to God. Come to him with gratitude for his love and his many blessings. Then step out in faith knowing that God will walk with you on the path that seems uncertain. He will certainly be walking with you!
Your time with God’s Word
2 Corinthians 5:1-11; Psalm 92:1-15 ESV
Photo by Blake Wheeler at Unsplash
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