Daily devotion – Looking ahead!
Longing for Home
There are times when our longing to be home in Heaven weighs heavily upon us. We see our world spiralling deeper into wickedness. Our children and grandchildren are growing up in a world that is becoming increasingly aggressive toward the Christian faith.
In contrast to what we see around us, the Bible gives us a glorious glimpse of what awaits believers. We read of the gathering of all believers before the throne of God in praise:
Revelation 5:11–14
“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!’
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
‘Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!’
Then the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.”
This is the moment I look forward to—being part of the world’s largest choir, praising our Lord together. What a moment that will be!
But right now, we live in a very different reality. War continues in the Middle East. Israel is still fighting for its very existence. And our nation, Australia, is no longer the country many of us once knew.
There is not a soul in the Bible who truly loved God that did not, at some point, long to be free from this fallen world.
So what are we to do?
We must remember that God created each of us for His purpose. He has work for us to complete, people for us to witness to, and situations He desires us to pray for.
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Yet while we are still here in this world, there is nothing wrong with pausing for a moment and looking ahead—trying to imagine what awaits all who have received God’s grace.
This week, take a moment. Read chapter 5 of Revelation and picture yourself standing with thousands upon thousands of others, alongside angels, lifting your new voice in praise to our holy Lord.
What a day that will be.