I’ve Been Thinking

It is interesting to me that we can find ourselves thinking about something or some things usually without realizing it. I know that is true for me every day as I go about life.

As a Christian, my day always begins and ends with the Lord. Prayer, Bible reading, and meditation on Him. Those are all important to me, and I believe they are to any and all Christians. Thus, all of that causes me, and I hope you, to keep focused and, of course, rely on our Lord God.

It is interesting to me that as I look back over my life, how much has changed in how I look at life. It is certainly different today than it was when we were just starting as a family. The things I felt were so important then, pale into insignificance today. Things that I should have done, I just didn’t know they were even an option back then.

We can’t and shouldn’t think about what we would have changed in our lives. That is counterproductive and for some even dangerous. I don’t live in the what if, because I know I made decisions and took actions that, at the time based upon what I knew was the right thing to do. Listen, that is how all of us live life. It is common to man, and everyone does it because that is life.

You have heard and maybe even said, well, if I had it to do over again, I would…. That is not a place to get stuck in, as it can tend to present some problems for us. I believe and have experienced in my life that those times in the past that it was not what I did but how God led in that situation. He protected me and lovingly guided me in the direction He desired. Of course, there were some times when I went off on my own, and as I look back, I know that God, although not pleased with my actions, was there to protect me. I find myself agreeing with David when he said in Psalm 118:28-29 ESV-

“You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Now there are times when I am thinking about the past, but probably more so now, and the eternal future. I mean that I want Elaine and I to enjoy the day the Lord gives us and the opportunities to experience all His creation. That is probably true in your life, and the eternal future for which we only have a very rudimentary knowledge from Scripture.

We can all ask others about a particular place they have been. We can research it and find out a lot about where we want to go. Heaven is not that place we can ask others about and what their experience was, because no one has ever died and come back from there and been able to share. OK, there is Lazarus, and I have been working on a message for this next week on him. But, there is no Biblical accounting for where he was for the 4 days he was dead. Without an accounting for this in the Bible, we have no true answer as to where he was for 4 days.

You might ask how I reconcile an unknown eternal future. A place I can only see a minimal reference to in Scripture. Thus, I consider it will be my home forever. As a finite person, I cannot understand an infinite existence. So I simply trust the Lord. What it will be like, I just don't know. What is smell like or look like? I am limited to having any idea. The light of heaven is noted by John in Revelation 22:5-

5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

In Revelation 21:1-7 ESV, we read-

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also, he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

So as we rise every morning and ‭‭lay down our head at night, we can know that God has it all under control. We have all heard it, as we face the matters of life, that “this too shall pass”. Interestingly enough, though it sounds like it would be from Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes, it is never stated in the Bible, but the idea is reflected throughout its pages. Our lives on earth are a mere vapor that will quickly pass. James 4:14 tells us-

14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Psalm 118:24 is one that we all recite almost every day. Not only should we recite it, but we should live by the power of God's provision.

24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I trust you have a great day in the Lord.

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In God's Grace,

Elbert Nasworthy