My Temporary Home

HERE I AM AGAIN…

Something has been on my heart ever since I’ve come back to school. You wanna know what I’ve been feeling lately? Beat down by this world. Almost crushed at times. Since leaving the comfort and safety of home once again, I am remembering how rough it gets trying to stand up under the pressures of this world. We live in a world that is so full of different ideologies, religious views, philosophies, and controversies, that it makes my head spin around. I get so caught up in all the things around me that I lose sight of God and His purpose. Maybe, like me, you’ve been hearing the devil whisper in your ear that you are a complete idiot for believing in such a God—for believing that there is hope in such a dark world.

HOPELESS?

Instead of taking the Lord’s perspective and looking outside myself—outside of my circumstances—I have been beaten down by the craziness all around me. All the things we see and hear that make us feel hopeless. We are stuck in such a hard place. As believers, I’ve realized that our hearts are torn. We long to be with Christ our Savior but we are here on earth where there are things that tempt us everywhere. There is darkness, there is pain, there is confusion…but among the dark clouds there is also a glimmer of hope. And that is Christ. We know what is to come. We long for paradise and to be in the presence of our King. I believe that is one of the hardest things about being stuck here in the middle, on earth. “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior” Philippians 3:20.

A RAY OF SUNSHINE…

One day we will be in paradise–“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4. And although the enemy will try to convince you that there is no reason for hope, “be patient in trouble, and keep on praying…”Romans 12:12 because “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” Romans 16:20a. The lies will cease and the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And we can have so much hope because we are no longer living as slaves to our sin. “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead you live under the freedom of grace” Romans 6:14. We can walk this road of life in God’s freedom.

So when you are feeling beat down by this world remember this: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory” Colossians 3:1-5. When I’m down, I always remind myself to think in the grand scheme of things. I ask myself, “In the end, is this really going to matter? In the end, is any of this worry I have going to make a difference?”

One day I know I’m going to see God’s face. And we can have all our hope in Him, not this crazy world. He is our hope. His promises have always held true. He has been faithful before and He will be faithful again. Be comforted by the fact that you are in the arms and loved by a most amazing and powerful God—the One who made you a part of His story. We may have troubles. We may be confused at times. We may feel lost in a crazy and self-crazed world. But we can take heart because our Christ has already overcome. We already have the victory. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the world” John 16: 33.

HERE AND NOW…

Isn’t it amazing that we already know how the story ends? We are just waiting on Him to take us to paradise with Him. And all that He asks of us while we wait is this: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8. Wow. God’s love and grace is something I may never understand, but I will trust in it.

To end, I leave you with this verse and a song. This verse reminds me to look outside of my circumstances and what I may be feeling to my amazing Savior. For we will not be here forever, the things we see are only temporary…for this is my temporary home.

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” 2 Corinthians 4:17-19.