Most Precious Lord, I have trouble getting a clear picture of what You’ve prepared for me in Heaven. I try to size up the things I hear talked about as being a part of Heaven … things like mansions for everyone, streets paved with gold, choir rallies every day, lions sleeping with lambs, blissful happiness, Your glory shining everywhere, etc. It’s a beautiful picture of what awaits me. I believe I will be able to develop a clearer picture as I study Your Word and open myself to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. What I’ve experience on earth is pain, sorrow, disappointment and trials which slants my view but knowing You are close seems to overcome such thinking. When I find my faith waning, Your encouraging words build it back up so I act the way You would. Life is short when compared with eternity and Your expectation is that I will give it my all … and I will.
I believe and understand that my life is in Your hands. I’m convinced that You will leave me on the earth as long as You feel I am contributing to the furtherance of Your Kingdom. If I focus on You, and not what the world says I should be doing, You will be able to show me Your will and how I can fulfill it. As my faith grows, I’ll be able to discern Your voice and comprehend Your will for me. Give me a humble heart so that I never forget Your place in my life and how vital You are to it. I want my rebellion against You to be as far away as the East is from the West. In that way, I can remain obedient and compliant. As Your love permeates my whole being, I want it to shine forth in a concern for the poor and needy who could use a helping hand. Life is tough for everyone but, as You teach me how to become an overcomer, I will use Your power and wisdom to help others do the same.
The Old Testament speaks of You as the “promise to come” … and, the New Testament speaks of You as the “promise fulfilled.” In times past, the righteous yearned for Your coming but I have been given the ability to actually reap the rewards of Your coming. I marvel about how Your Heavenly Father conceived a plan to save me from the overwhelming pile of sins I committed and I, in turn, could do nothing to redeem myself. It is consoling to realize that He had a backup plan in case things did not go the way He planned. I think about how hard it would be for me to offer one of my children as a sacrifice for the sins of others … and how miraculous it would be for them to be willing to lay down their lives for another. You and Your Father have surely gone “all in” for me. My desire is to be “all in” for You. That is why I am committed to unconditionally believing in You. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
John 11:25-26 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?