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| A view of the sky from our vacation in Maui; closest thing to Heaven. |
In another
blog, I had written about my friend Jesse. Here's a link to that blog: FAITH WALK He’s afflicted by a disease that is trying to
claim his life. I’ve been part of a
large group of family and friends that have been believing for his
healing. I do believe he will be healed
and fully restored either on this side of eternity or the next. The hardest part about this process is
knowing that the door of death is involved in reaching the rest of our lives
beyond this earthly existence. I’m
exercising my faith and trying with all that I have to see beyond and gain heaven’s
view instead of my own time restricted earthly view. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to stretch
my faith concerning a friend who’s facing a deadly illness and I suspect it
won’t be my last.
What I’m
trying to overcome is my natural earthly instinct to see life’s trials and
afflictions as finality and with that comes the thought of “no hope”. I’m in process of getting my mind to grasp
hold of God’s truth and to get in alignment with heaven’s perspective; that
life will continue on for all of us, either in the eternal presence of our
Creator in Heaven, or in eternal torment in Hell. One path gives us hope of full restoration,
including our bodies, living a life void of pain and suffering. The other path
without Christ offers no hope, no freedom from pain.
All of us
are eternal beings and whether we choose to believe that or not, life will
continue on forever for all of us.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 …He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no
one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. This verse clearly
states how all of us feel; that we can’t even fathom the scope of eternity. That this earthly existence is a mere speck
of time compared to eternity.
Every trial and hardship we face on earth
is like a drop of water in a vast ocean that never ends.
Many are
facing divorce, losing their house, have lost a job, struggling with addiction,
and are contending with illnesses and injury. Jesus sees us within our
earthly time restraints and in his compassion is with us through it all. Job 28:24 for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
Nehemiah 9:27 …But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great
compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them… For us, a hardship can
seem forever, but in heaven’s perspective it’s just a fleeting moment. I remember when my first child was born, and
that first year was so hard. My husband
and I wondered if we would ever be able to sleep again, eat a meal on time, or
have time for ourselves. It seemed like
a very long year. Now that same child is
15 yrs. old and taking Driver’s Education.
Where did the time go? What I
perceived at the time was an unending season of hardship turned out to be such
a small amount of time in my life. Perspective.
Whether
you’re hardship is illness, finances, loss of marriage, loss of a child there
is HOPE. We have an eternal hope through
Jesus Christ. This time spent here is
nothing compared to the joyous future we are heading towards if you are in
relationship with Jesus Christ. Are you
in need of hope today? If you want to
experience the hope of eternity then choose to be a follower of Jesus.
Pray this prayer with me, it’s not so
much the words as it is your heart attitude.
Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for
me, forgive me for my sins, wash me clean.
I choose a new path now, to follow you all the days of my life, and to
honor your name. In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.
If you’ve
just prayed that prayer, congratulations!
Your next step will be to find a local church to encourage you in your
relationship with Jesus. Now that you
are a part of God’s kingdom, you too can begin to gain a heavenly perspective
to help you navigate life’s hardships.
Go to the iTunes store and download and
listen to the song, There is a HOPE by Life Center for further encouragement. “There is a hope and his name is Jesus.”
–Life Center Ministries
You can reach
me on Facebook here: Tasha Johnson, Author "Path of
the Blessing" and through Amazon.com you can find my book, Path of the
Blessing to help guide you to staying on course with your relationship with
God.
