Everlasting

 

Everlasting.... the word can have two meanings that immediately come to my mind. 

Waiting for test results or for coronavirus numbers to come down to a safe level so we can come out of lockdown can feel everlasting!

The other everlasting thing is good: being in paradise and then later on, the new earth. I used to think it would be like a Grace Church prayer meeting - the prayer times at Grace were something else and I never wanted them to end! Especially when God's tangible presence was present. The idea of enjoying God Himself for ever is pretty fantastic and something to which I'm looking forward with much anticipation. 

No harps and nighties on clouds thank you very much. I think if this present earth has so much variety for us to enjoy, God can be trusted to make sure paradise and the perfect new earth will be far better - so wonderful we can't even imagine it. There is fullness of joy in His presence - and that's good enough for me. Fullness of joy:  so much joy that we can't hold a drop more - and this amazing, marvellous time will never end. Great.

Glory

Where is the glory? I loved times in the past when God's presence could be tangibly felt, when a mere whiff of His glory filled a room and knocked me off my feet.

Life was good then, it was easy to have faith in God, to believe that He was good and loved me and was all-powerful.

But, where is the glory now?

Mental health issues, other significant life events I could do without, and now the coronavirus. The UK is (finally) on something of a lockdown, suddenly my weekly online shop at Asda has gone out of the window because everyone else now wants to shop online, and life feels very uncertain.

I've seen other people suffering on the television: Syria, Yemen, Iraq, UK flooding victims, people who've lost everything. But somehow it was far away and couldn't touch me, it would never happen to me.

Today life feels overwhelming with mental and physical ill health, job insecurity and now the danger of coronavirus when I'm suddenly one of the vulnerable.

I don't like it. I'm scared. Where is the glory now? I want God to come striding in and sort it all out, to make the virus go away, and bring peace and stability back into my life again.

But maybe this path for now needs to be stony and harsh. It's tough and I don't like it.

The path to glory always goes through suffering. Even Jesus couldn't have the glory without suffering first. He's promised not to abandon me and to provide for my needs. Do I have faith for this? I hope so; a tiny bit will do.

Glory follows suffering as surely as sunshine follows rain and spring follows winter.

So come on, girl, trust Him. Glory is just around the corner.