Just Passing Through

I write today with a heavy heart for so many. A young youth pastor was killed in an automobile accident last night with his group coming home from doing mission work. Although I do not know him personally, my heart aches for his family. He had a little one and wife. Tragic. Yet, these things are happening all around us.

People are going through severe personal issues, loss of jobs, cancer, emotional pain…the list goes on and on. And these things have gone on as long as I have been alive to remember, and they will continue to do so. I cannot fix any of it. I want to….I so hurt for them. So I pray.

The hard questions come from others. Why? Shouldn’t we pray harder? I don’t have answers for those questions, nor do I even understand what it means to pray “harder”. But I do know one thing….Jesus gets it, and my home is really not here anyway, this is indeed my temporary residence.

Sometimes I believe that I put too much confidence in this life I now live on planet earth. I feel comfortable here and have often thought that living the life here on planet earth is what it is all about. How wrong I am.

I am just “passing through” on my way to my forever home, heaven. It still hurts, we still grieve, but we won’t forever!

2 Corinthians 5:1-8 “We know that the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. But we have a building made by God. It is a house in heaven that lasts forever. Human hands did not build it. During our time on earth we groan. We long to put on our house in heaven as if it were clothing.  Then we will not be naked. While we live in this tent of ours, we groan under our heavy load. We don’t want to be naked. We want to be dressed with our house in heaven. What must die will be swallowed up by life.  God has made us for that very purpose. He has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment. The Spirit makes us sure of what is still to come. So here is what we can always be certain about. As long as we are at home in our bodies, we are away from the Lord. We live by believing, not by seeing. We are certain about that. We would rather be away from our bodies and at home with the Lord.”

1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”

That is our hope as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. That no matter what we face, no matter what comes our way…this place is temporary. This pain is temporary.Oh Lord, may we be mindful of that as we live this life.

The lyrics to a song sand by the Gaither Vocal Band says it all:

“Then I remember I’m not a part of this world
I’m moving higher each day
Upward mobility sounds mighty good to me
And I just can’t wait to get way

I got to remember I’m not here to say
I’m looking forward to a brighter day
I got to remember I’m not here for long
I’m just livin’ in my temporary home

If you are bothered by the problems in life
Don’t you let ’em get you down
Just look to Jesus, you will not be denied
He’ll move you up to higher ground

Don’t forget you’re a child of the King
That you’re an heir to His throne
You may not know just when He’s coming back again
He’ll take us to our happy home y’all”

Be blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE
Isaiah 55:8-9

*google image, NIV Bible, Temporary Home lyrics, GVB*