Good morning, my brothers! We know heaven is our eternal home. But how often do we let today's troubles steal the joy of what's waiting for us? Jesus showed us another way to live. Let’s go! 4-min, 59-sec read.
Listen to the audio version here:
Since Saturday’s article, one phrase from Hebrews 12 keeps rolling around in my mind: “for the joy set before Him.” Jesus endured the cross because He could see what was waiting on the other side.
Then I took an honest look at my own life. Do I really live for " the joy set before me”? Do you? Do we live with a firm understanding that we’re truly aliens and strangers here on earth, and that our home for eternity is heaven?
Paul knew real suffering. He was beaten, shipwrecked, and thrown in prison for Jesus, and yet he described this perspective beautifully:
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Like me, do you ever get so absorbed by the here and now that you forget the joy set before you, the unseen, the eternal? All too often, I focus on the light and momentary troubles, not enough on the eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
What If We Lived for That?
I’m not discounting our pain, our heartache, or the troubles of this world. Jesus Himself told us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). They’re real, but they’re not the end of the story.
I just want to live more like a man who knows how the story ends. For the joy set before me, and before you.
There’s light at the end of every tunnel for the man who trusts in Jesus. And this light, this comfort, this peace, this perfection isn’t temporary. It’s eternal.
I believe we can glimpse that eternal joy here and now because the Holy Spirit lives in us. Paul calls Him “a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 5:5), but it’s only a glimpse.
A life led by the Holy Spirit produces His fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Whatever our circumstances, those qualities are a foretaste of what’s to come.
As sweet as that foretaste is, it’s not the feast. The joy set before us is Jesus Himself, face to face, and an eternal glory that far outweighs every trouble we’ll ever carry.
Let’s live with that hope, as if we truly believe it, no matter what happens around us.
Reflection
How would your perspective on life change if you began to live from a foundation of the joy set before you?
Action
Each morning this week, read 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 slowly. Name one light and momentary trouble you’re carrying, and hand it to the Father.
Then, when you catch yourself absorbed in the here and now during the day, stop and pray six words: “For the joy set before me.” Let it pull your eyes back to what’s unseen and eternal.
Prayer
Father, I confess I spend so much of my life chasing joy in the here and now. Lift my eyes to what is unseen and eternal. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, the deposit and guarantee of the joy to come. Grow His fruit in me today, so the men around me catch a glimpse of You. Help me live for the joy set before me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bonus Song: Click this link and sing along with Shane & Shane, because you know how the story ends.
-Will
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