~ "There will be a day..."

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev 21:3-4)

So often I long for that day.  When life's trial and the human suffering get to a point where we can no longer bear it, we all long for that day!  "When is it going to end" is usually the phrase that comes out of our mouths.  The answer, we know already is "soon".

In the time between Jesus' first coming and second coming, we are to be prepared and to help prepare others.  We take our cue from Him!  We forgive those who have hurt us, we share what we have with those who have nothing, we pray to the Father, we praise His name, we comfort those who grieve, we spread the Word of God and we remember the sacrifice on the cross.  

In this time, we suffer.  We suffer simply because we cannot see the face of God.  We suffer because of sin.  We suffer because of injustice.  There will be a day when all that is made right!  We will stand in the presence of God and in the fellowship of Jesus, presented as "clean" and we will celebrate the victory!  We will take up residence in the greatest mansion of all - our Father's mansion!  Our inheritance will be given us in full.

The more we give of ourselves to others, the more we will receive.  Our blessings on earth will not compare by any means, the blessings of the kingdom.  How could they?  To see the face of God will be the greatest blessing of them all!  To touch the face of Jesus cannot compare to anything we receive here on earth.  A long awaited meeting by many, I'm sure.  That  one, beautiful and wonderful soul who gave His life for me - who rescued me from the grave, who delivered my from the fires of hell - to gaze into His eyes and say face-to-face "thank you" is worth all the tears I've cried, all the disappointments I've experienced and the broken heart I live with.  He makes all the difference!

"Having joy, regardless of my circumstances"...it comes in knowing that all of this will end - that all of this will pass away!  It comes from knowing that whatever sins I've committed have been washed away.  It comes in the realization that I am loved and I am a child of the King - making me royalty!  It comes in the glory of His word.  It comes with the beating of my heart.  It comes in the stillness of my soul when He is near.  It is a joy like no other, because in that joy, I know, there will be a day...