Looking Forward
What do you do while you’re waiting for something?
Verse of the Day
“If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.”
Today’s Devotional
I was reading an article about patience recently that hit the nail on the head. This article from Christianity Today described patience as “enduring discomfort without complaint.” When I apply that definition to today’s verse, I find that I fall short. I don’t always live my life here on this planet looking forward to eternity with my Father with a sense of patience and confidence. There are parts of this life that would definitely qualify as “discomfort”, and I’m not great at enduring those things without complaint.
Bibleref.com says this about today’s verse: “Paul has been describing both our current state of being and our future as Christians. Our future is glory, when all will be made right, our faith will be vindicated to the world, and our redeemed bodies will allow us to be with our Father forever.
Our current state, though, is one of longing for that day. For now, we have to suffer through the realities of life and all the consequences of sin on this side of eternity. Our hope is sure, but by definition it has not arrived yet.
Now Paul describes us, Christians, as people who wait with patience for a hope we do not see with our eyes. We might not always feel the longing as intensely, or always as patiently. Still, to be a Christian in this life means to wait for the best possible reality anyone can imagine, with patience. We can trust our Father to bring it about at just the right time.”
As we wait patiently and confidently for our future glory, how should we spend our time? What does it actually look like for us to wait patiently and confidently for what we know is coming? As the resurrected Jesus questioned Peter about his love for Him in John 21:15-17, which was after Peter’s repeated denial of Jesus, each time Peter answers the Lord responds with a variation of “take care of My sheep”. That sounds like a great way to wait patiently and confidently. If we know what awaits us, and we know that it is God’s desire that none should perish, then there is no better way for us to wait for Jesus’s return than to take care of the Father’s other kids. But sometimes that’s hard.
Oswald Chambers wrote: “Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is – ‘Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just “Feed My sheep.”’ Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions – I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or rescued from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.”
We look forward to heaven by feeding His sheep today. And we need no special skill for this, because of what we are told in Hebrews 13:21: “May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him.” And clearly, based on the example of Peter, we don’t need a perfect past to be able to be of service to the Lord. We just need to be willing.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What do you do while you are waiting for something?
How confident and patient are you with the promises of God?
How do you “feed His sheep”?
How would being active in service of others help you to wait patiently for your eternal reward?
What are you looking forward to about heaven?
How can you practice handling discomfort without complaint?