HEAVEN
For those of us who are fighters, what’s more thrilling
than winning a battle against the enemy of God’s people? Not much, right? And
yet Jesus tells us in Luke 10 that there is something even greater.
“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord,
even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them,
Behold, I give unto you power over all the power of the enemy. Notwithstanding
in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven” (Lk 10:17-20).
What does that mean? Well, for one thing, there will be
no more battles to fight in heaven! Everyone who’s born again has true peace
and joy to look forward to forever.
Revelation 21:4 tells us, “And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away.”
And Isaiah 65:25 paints a beautiful picture for those of
us who are animal lovers: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the
lion shall eat straw like the bullock.” In the Bible, there was a donkey who
talked to a prophet, so many of us believe that in heaven, animals will be able
to talk too, and what stories they will tell!
According to our Lord, heaven is something we as
Christians need to focus on at least as much as we focus on fighting those
battles.
It’s dangerous to be a warrior without taking time to
revel in the hope of heaven.
If we spend most of our time getting all hyped up over
the battles, what about when there are no more battles? If we’ve not practiced
just being happy in the Lord’s presence, we might not know what to do with all
the free time.
King David of the Bible was a warrior, and yet his psalms
are salted with verses in which he basks in the visions of heaven. Look at
Psalm 16:8-9, “I have set the Lord always before me: Therefore my
heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.”
The concept of going to heaven is not a new one. David,
way back in Old Testament times, knew from God and His written Word that he
would be with the Lord forever. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for
ever (Psalm 23:6).
And in Psalm 21: 4, David refers to himself when he says:
“He [I, David] asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days
forever and ever.” David knew he had
forever with the Lord, and we need to be equally at peace, knowing it too.
And lastly, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for
his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psa. 146:5).
It’s no secret that the world’s in a mess, and we are the
ones letting God work in us to fight against Satan for the health, deliverance,
and blessing of God’s people. But let’s take at least as much time to be happy
in the Lord, focusing on the great reality of being with the Lord forever in
heaven. It’s what Jesus said we should do.
In fact, it wouldn’t even be a bad idea for us to
memorize some of those verses about heaven and about being with the Lord
forever. We can put one or two in our list of scriptures we pray every day, or
we can write them out and put them up in the bathroom. With all the negatives
that bombard us each week, we might benefit from having some heaven to focus on!
Love, Carolyn
Discover how the principles of the Bible still apply to
our lives today. The short, true stories in my books address current issues in
a Biblical way.
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