ANTICIPATING A GREAT
DAY COMING!
As I continue be reminded of our recent journey to the east coast, we are again on the beach, on the Atlantic Ocean. The beach is packed with people, umbrellas and chairs. It is Sunday and I would rather be with my church family in worship. But here I am with my family, and sitting in my chair with my notebook wondering what the Lord will show me this day. The beach is filled with metaphors reminding me of our walk with the Lord on this journey “home.”
First of all I noticed the “sun worshippers.” There were many, many of them stretched out
on their beach towels or in their chairs soaking up the sun. But I was reminded of a day coming, when we
who love Jesus will be worshipping the “Son.” As we gather around the crystal sea
(Revelation 15:2) our worship will be in joyful praise:
Just and true are Your ways, O King of the
saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify
Your name?
For You alone are holy, for all nations
shall come
And worship before You” Revelation 15:3-4.
As we all gather on that glorious day with all the saints from all the ages, we will not be wearing “swim suits” and such, as they were that day as I sat on the beach in Maryland. But we will be clothed in beautiful robes, clean and white. See Revelation 7:9. And gathered there will be saints from all tribes and nations, and we all will be glorifying our Mighty God, for all the wonderful works He has done for us. And won’t it be wonderful to see Him face to face? After all the trials and struggles of this life now, we will finally behold Him in all His glory. I can hardly wait, can you?
I noticed that the ocean was getting a little choppy, and
clouds were gathering, as a storm was coming.
What will we do if “home” is several blocks away? On this journey of life, as we walk with
Jesus, sometimes we feel the wind getting stronger, storm clouds began to
gather on the horizon, and we wonder if, in our present circumstances, how far away is “home.” “Will I drown in these present circumstances
in my life? Or will I be able to keep my
eyes on Jesus and keep my focus on my heavenly home which may be just around
the next bend?”
As I walked down to the beach to watch my husband jump
some waves along with the grandchildren, I noticed something different about
this stretch of beach and others I have seen on the east coast, there is no
seaweed! I have been on beaches in
California and in Oregon where the seaweed will wrap itself around your feet if
you are not careful. Some beaches are
littered with it. And if a person is not
careful, the seaweed could wrap around your feet and pull you down. And then there are riptides, and warnings
were soon out along the Atlantic Coast of riptides forming because of the
hurricane to the south.
What is pulling you under today? Has the “seaweed” of depression or grief or
life threatening illness threatening to pull you under in despair? Are “riptides” of sin pulling you away from
the shore, away from the arms of Jesus?
We live in a world where there is much despair, and fear is gripping
even God’s people. Will you let the fear
threatening this world and even our own nation pull you under, and you lose
your glimpse of our Precious Lord as He walks the sea, wanting to calm your
storm and bring you His peace? Some of
you weep through the dark nights of despair, wondering when daylight will come
into your life. Let the Lord Jesus calm
your tears and bring comfort as you read the words of Charles Spurgeon:
“Come, my heart,
begin thy hallelujahs! Weep not all
through the night, but wipe thine eyes in anticipation of the morning. Those tears are dews mean us as much good as
sunbeams of morrow. Tears clear the eyes
for the sight of God in His grace and make the vision of His favor more
precious!”’
Yes, my friends, anticipate the
morning! The day is coming when you
won’t have to weep through the night, because Jesus will wipe all tears from
your eyes. When those tearful times do
come, they cause us to look up into the face of God, our merciful God, and our
walk with the Lord becomes even more precious, as we look back and see how far
He has led us and the struggles we have gone through.
“That is why we
never give up. Though are bodies are
dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurable great
glory that will last forever! So we
don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to
what we have not seen. For the troubles
we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever” II
Corinthians 4:16-18. (NLT)
What precious promises and hope we have in Jesus. Yes, the storms will come, but my Jesus walks
on the waves of the mighty ocean, speaking “peace, peace, be still.” And as we continue our journey with Him, we
are reminded every day, of the great day coming, maybe just around the next
bend, or over the next hill. Cling tight
to Him, my friends. We have a great day
coming, and with much anticipation we look forward to that day. Blessed be His Precious Name!
Pastor Sharon
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