"By faith [Abraham] went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:9-10).
Illness clearly shows the flaws of our bodies. Rather than being a palace of luxury, our bodies display all the inconveniences and discomforts of a tent.
Even for one who likes a good tent camping vacation, the glamor and novelty will eventually wear off. Bones begin to ache from hard ground. Skin ages from exposure. Hair grows hopelessly tangled from wind. Face is scorched from cooking over a fire. We begin to dream of a luxury hotel.
Has the novelty of illness (or whatever your trial may be) worn off? If you (as I have done) focus on the discomfort, you will become disheartened. You will want to give up, and you will cry for an end to it. And while crying out to God in our pain is good, God wishes us to not only turn our hearts to understand our utter helplessness (What a gift to be given true vision!), but also to turn our eyes to hope in and expectancy of the promise. Eternal life. Life made beautiful through the Spirit now. Life more beautiful and grand than we are able to imagine in "the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God."
So in the trial, let's not only cry out, but lift our gaze to the One who has promised a home in His palace.
Illness clearly shows the flaws of our bodies. Rather than being a palace of luxury, our bodies display all the inconveniences and discomforts of a tent.
Even for one who likes a good tent camping vacation, the glamor and novelty will eventually wear off. Bones begin to ache from hard ground. Skin ages from exposure. Hair grows hopelessly tangled from wind. Face is scorched from cooking over a fire. We begin to dream of a luxury hotel.
Has the novelty of illness (or whatever your trial may be) worn off? If you (as I have done) focus on the discomfort, you will become disheartened. You will want to give up, and you will cry for an end to it. And while crying out to God in our pain is good, God wishes us to not only turn our hearts to understand our utter helplessness (What a gift to be given true vision!), but also to turn our eyes to hope in and expectancy of the promise. Eternal life. Life made beautiful through the Spirit now. Life more beautiful and grand than we are able to imagine in "the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God."
So in the trial, let's not only cry out, but lift our gaze to the One who has promised a home in His palace.
Photo: bricks torn out of our basement during professional mold remediation
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