Real Hope

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are inthis tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 2 Cor 5:1-8 (NKJV)

What does one say to a friend whose body has been decimated by cancer? What does one say when the end of this life is eminent? This is when the "truth" of God's Word speaks hope. In fact, under the circumstance of facing a terminal illness, the guarantee, "Yes, guarantee," of existence beyond this life is our only hope...our blessed hope. So, as I watch my friend's earthly house being systematically destroyed, I am confident that he also has a building from God that cannot be touched or harmed by anything in this world.

The Apostle Paul taught this truth with confidence! In fact, he went so far as to suggest that we must (at some point in time) give up our earthly clothes so that we can be clothed with the habitation of heaven. The point that Paul is making is this: When a Believer in Christ dies--death is the mechanism that God uses whereby "mortality is swallowed up by life." Death is literally the door to immortality and life eternal with the Lord!

Of course, all of us would like to have a peek at the life that awaits us on the other side of death, before our time of passage. Just to make sure...that it is all real, and that our hope is justified. I wish that I could take away your doubts, but, I have not crossed into the realm of immortality as of yet. This is what I can say with confidence: The Spirit of the living God is living in me as a guarantee of what is to come. He is real--He speaks to me--He leads me--He strengthens me--and He will be my guide when I travel through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. In the meantime--I will "walk by faith and not by sight!"

Prayer: "Dear Father, I say that I trust in You and then I hear the voice of doubt in my mind. But, Father--I do trust in You! I place my life into Your safe keeping and I will, by the strength of Your Spirit, walk by faith and not by sight. You, O Lord, have not given me a spirit of fear, but You have given me a sound mind and flooded my life with Your love. Help me to receive these gifts from You and to walk in this life with no fear. My life is in Your hands! Amen"