Okay, so yesterday morning when I woke up I wasn't feeling too good. I wasn't feeling good emotionally. So, I started praying and listening to some worship music. The more I prayed, the more I wanted Jesus to come and be with me. I wanted Him to sit with me and talk to me. I wanted to just sit at His feet and listen to Him. I wanted to hear Him say, "Rest on My strength. Look to Me for satisfaction." I wanted to hear Him speak with His mouth. I wanted to hear His voice and know what it sounds like. I wanted to see His face.
Something that the Lord showed me through this experience is that I CAN sit at the Lord's feet and listen to His words. I just need to open His word and see what He has to say. The word is "breathed out by God" (2 Timothy 3:16) and it's "living and active" (Hebrews 4:12). The Lord has told us all that we need to know in His word.
Yet, there was still that longing to actually be with Him. Which is a good thing. I mean, He died for my sin and gave me eternal life. Why wouldn't I want to be with Him? But the hope that I have is that I WILL be with Him someday. And I WILL get to be with Him forever.
A passage that came to mind that morning was John 20:24-29. Jesus had died on the cross, was laid in a tomb and then rose from the dead three days later. He appeared to His disciples and showed them that He was alive. But here's what John writes in John 20:
24Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe."
26Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Jesus is saying in that last verse that those who haven't seen Him yet believe in Him are blessed. Have you ever wished that you could have seen Jesus in person when He was here on the earth? I have. But I know that I'm blessed since I believe in Him even though I've never seen Him. It's definitely only by God's grace that I believe in His Son. So, thank You Lord!
Another verse that came to mind was Romans 8:24-25:
24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
That morning made me sooo excited for heaven! I'm seriously really stoked! I want my faith to be sight. I want to see Jesus as He is. But like the verse in Romans says, "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." I have to be patient. God has me on earth right now for a reason. But we should still be excited to be with the Lord.
So many verses about heaven are coming to my mind right now. Like Philippians 3:20-21,
21But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.
And Revelation 21:3-4,
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Even though I've never seen the Lord with my physical eyes, the Holy Spirit has shown me that Jesus truly is God. I see that I am a sinner. I see my need for Jesus. I see my need for adoption. I see my need for redemption. I see my need for a Savior. I once was blind but now I see.
