Today’s Daily Bread ~ Passing Through

* This entry originally posted on 7/25/10

Isaiah 65:17 – “Look!  I am creating new heavens and a new earth – so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore.”

My family and I recently took a trip to Ocean City, Maryland.  It’s quite a haul from Texas.  Three hours on a plane from DFW to Baltimore, then another three hours by car.  However, we had to get to the airport two hours early.  Once we landed, we sat on the runway for about 30 minutes.  30 more minutes to get bags.  An hour to rent a car (long story).  A stop at Wal-Mart on the way to pick up sheets and towels.  When all was said and done, we’d spent twelve hours en-route to our destination.  That’s a long day of travel.

When we go somewhere, aren’t we always looking forward to the end point?  Planes are fine, but I wouldn’t want to live on one.  Same goes for my car.  Have you ever been on a long road trip and stopped to stretch at a truck rest stop?  You get out, use the bathroom, stretch your legs and go.  No one clings to the rest stop.

That’s what planet earth is for us…a rest stop.  We are passing through.  If you’re a Christian, this is not it for you.  The best is still ahead. 

Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to be happy?  Happiness is such a fleeting thing.  I’ll take contentment any day.  Happiness is picky.  Everything has to be just right.  Everyone needs to be nice, cars have to run, kids can’t fight, and the paychecks need to be on time.  Life needs to be neat and tidy for happiness to stick around for any length of time. 

There’s a problem with that, I’ve found.  Life isn’t neat and tidy.  Life is messy.  Loved ones pass away, criminals get probation, jobs get lost, kids fail classes, marriages end in divorce and people let us down.  Peter tells us to expect it.  “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you (1 Peter 4:12).”  In other words, “Don’t be surprised that it’s difficult.  It’s going to be hard.  But it’s ok, because you weren’t meant to stay here.  This isn’t your home.”  We’re only passing through.

As Christians we know that.  Cognitively we know that.  But do we believe it? 

I believe that my name is Rebecca Ashbrook Carrell, that I’m married to Mike Carrell, and that my children are Caitlyn and Nicholas Carrell.  And that’s how I behave.  I introduce myself with my name, I don’t put myself in situations alone with other men, and I take care of my children.  Anyone who knows me knows my name, that I’m married and that I’m a mother.  I act on that belief.

Do your actions reflect your faith?  Does your heart believe what your head knows?  When life takes a left and you wanted to go right, do you get anxious and angry, or are you at peace knowing that the Lord has other plans?  When a believer passes away, do you see it as a crushing, devastating loss, or do you mourn for yourself while knowing they are dancing in glory with Jesus? 

Look at this verse – Isaiah 57:1-2 – The righteous pass away; the godly often die before their time.  And no one seems to care or wonder why.  No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.  For the godly who die will rest in peace.  What a revolutionary way to look at death.  God is protecting them from the evil to come.  Surely we can take peace from that.

This earth is not it.  We are just passing through.  No one sets up a permanent residence at a rest stop.

Dear God, we know You love us.  We know that believers in Christ go to You when they leave this life.  Help our hearts to believe what our heads know.  Help us to live out our faith.  Replace our weak, text-book knowledge with firsthand experience!  Show us Your glory, God…even if it’s just a glimpse!  Be near to us God, and let us feel Your Holy Presence.  Now more than ever God, with Your Son’s return so close at hand, be near to us.  Comfort us and sustain us God, for You are the only One who can.  We love You so much, and we ask these things in Jesus Christ’s precious, Holy Name.  Amen.