It really doesn’t matter what age you are, waiting is hard. It can be as simple as waiting in line at the store, waiting for your birthday, or waiting for the day to be over! Every day we are constantly waiting for something. How do you get through?
They say patience is a virtue. It certainly is a hard thing to constantly keep up! I recently booked a flight back to the country I was born in. I have not been back there since I was born. It is a trip that I have always wanted to take and never thought I’d get the opportunity. The opportunity has come up and I’m going! However, now I have to wait. Waiting is hard. Patience is hard. I have a feeling the trip will be similar to Christmas. The anticipation of it will be so great, the trip will happen, and then before I know it, the whole thing will be over. Then all I’ll have is my memories and pictures of the trip. Isn’t Christmas so similar? You make so many preparations and look forward to it so much and before you know it, it’s over.
In many ways, heaven is similar. We are waiting and waiting for the day when we will reach our heavenly home. We know it’s going to be better than anything we can imagine. We also know that it has been promised to us by God. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21) However, there are a few differences. Unlike many of the things we wait for here on earth, we don’t know when we will be brought to heaven. God tells us to be ready at any time because we do not know when he will come for us. The other major difference is that there will be no sadness after we finally reach our destination. There will be no “after christmas let down” and no “end of vacation blues.” Our trip to heaven is our final destination. We don’t have to go back to “reality” afterward. Our life in heaven is eternal. It won’t feel like we blinked and it’s over. We will live with our heavenly Father and enjoy the rewards of being his children through faith in him for all eternity. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
This is certainly a promise worth waiting for! In the meantime, let us pray continually for patience while we wait!
Dear God, Give us patience in our everyday lives and grant us patience while we eagerly await your return. Help us to share you gospel message to others so they too can be ready for your coming again! Amen.