We’ve heard this phrase before, ad nauseum, but it’s a true statement. Christ’ return for a believer is as close to them as their own death or the Rapture. Jesus promised that He would come for us when all things are ready. His return is always in front of us; it’s never behind us; until it is. We are on this side of the Rapture. Stand fast in hope!
Solomon said it this way, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” – Proverbs 13:12
Here’s hoping that our hope will not be deferred too much longer. The Lord’s return is soon, very soon, we just don’t know when. It could happen today, or in the very near future. It could happen during a high watch season, or on a random day that the Lord decided on before time, space, and creation began. What is immanence to us, is a certainty to God; we just don’t know exactly when that is. If you can’t handle the disappointment that comes with being a watcher, I encourage you to focus on something else. If you can flow with the loss associated with a passed high watch date, then welcome to the longing hearts club. I like to describe it this way, there are two bears, a mamma bear and a baby bear. The mamma bear has ten arrows in it and she’s struggling to walk; the baby bear has two arrows in it and it’s lying dead on the ground. My point is that mature watchers can handle more arrows of disappointment, but they keep watching and serving the Lord in spite of their need to endure till the end. Keep on keeping on; Jesus is coming soon.
Jesus reminds us that ‘he who endures till the end will be saved.’ (Matthew 10:22;24:13) The endurance that we all must face is part of the ride when serving the Lord and hoping for His soon return. We know that what waits for us in heaven far exceeds what we are experiencing here; even if the Lord has blessed us. We all want to be with Jesus, but He has called each of us to be His witnesses to those who still need to know of His love and forgiveness; just as we once did and received. Somebody told us about Jesus and we received Him. Now we must tell others about Jesus and hope that they too will receive Him. We can’t choose for them no more than they can choose for us. Our goal is to be a good witness for the Lord as we interact with others.
My heart goes out to those believers who are hurting right now and struggling with their own anxiety or displacement due to life challenges and such. I want to remind you all that God is faithful, He will always be faithful, and we must take courage in knowing that we will not be the first person the Lord lets down. God has us and He knows what’s best for us. We must trust in Him as we long for His return. Knowing that we’re close will help with the cause and prompt us to be more intentional in our witness for Jesus. Because we don’t know when, but only soon, we must make each day count, no matter how insignificant it may seem. If we’re doing it as unto the Lord, it’s worth the effort. As we serve the Lord, let us do so with an intentional love for others.
I find is as necessary as it is difficult to plan long while looking short for the Lord’s soon return. I want to see myself doing something significant for the Lord five years from now; even though we may have only weeks left on this rock. Planning long is akin to Jesus coming soon; we can be assured that whatever plans that we are making or working toward, if they are in line with God’s will for our lives, He will see us through or take us out in the process via death or Rapture. I am reminded of the true story of a young single missionary who was called to the mission field. He went to school, trained, learned the language and culture of his target country, and while en route via airplane to this remote people group, the plane went down and everyone aboard died. When responders went through the wreckage, they discovered the young missionary’s body with a note in his pocket with one word written on it; ‘Why?’ It was presumed that while the plane was going down, he wrote this note in hopes that someone would read it and make sense of it. From that experience, other young men felt called to that missions project and successfully arrived and worked that field for the glory of the Lord.
Jesus is coming soon, we need to be doing our best to plan long for His kingdom as we are looking short for His return. The signs are all around us, let’s get busy doing what God has placed on our heart to do for His glory. One day, each day, for as many days as we have until we’re gone. Why do we do this, because Jesus is coming soon.
Maranatha!
Encourage Men 