“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’” John 18:36
As I've been walking through a period of intense pain, I often reflected on heaven. The promise of heaven is the only thing that has kept me going each day. I keep telling myself, “This pain will not last forever. One day, I will be in heaven.” Due to being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that has no cure, I’m in pain daily and unable to do things I once enjoyed.
At first, I was extremely mad at God. I blamed Him for my pain and my illness. Similar to what I thought after my mom passed away, I pleaded with God, “Why won’t you heal me?” I wanted my mom to be healed from her heart disease, and I want God to now heal me of my autoimmune disease. However, no matter how badly we want something, that doesn't mean it will come into being.
Similar to the answer God gave when I begged for my mom to be healed, He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). This passage of Scripture has consistently circulated in my mind, and it was clear that God wasn’t going to take me out of this situation. While God did not cause me to develop this autoimmune disease, He will heal me from it one day when I move from this world to the next.
You see, I don’t look forward to much in this world. This world is full of problems, pain, and death. When anyone says, “I just really love life,” I get a bit perturbed. Perhaps they haven’t gone through anything significant to warrant a longing for the life to come. That isn't to say we can't enjoy the beauty and joy God has for us here, but beware, friends, if we love this world rather than God, we have a heart problem (James 4:4).
Nobody should love this present world because it will eventually be destroyed. As believers, we need to think about these issues carefully and know that we are responsible for sharing this scary but honest truth with those who don't know Christ.
This should convict us and bring us to the knowledge that if everything is always going our way, it is probably because we are not following God as we should. We aren't wrestling with convictions and pushing back against the cultural trends. Besides, the ideology that if we do “good things” God will bless us with financial gain, popularity, or a smooth-sailing life is not biblical. This very notion undermines the gospel of our Lord and Savior. Jesus died for us because He loves us and wants us to have a better life than what this sin-filled world can offer.
The Bible shares with us, “Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place’” (John 18:36). His Kingdom is not of this world. If it was, His servants would fight against His arrest. Nobody fought against His arrest because His Kingdom had not yet been revealed. The Lord’s Kingdom will come in its proper time, and we can eagerly await this day.
Whenever we are going through a difficult time, we need to remember that we are looking forward to the Lord’s Kingdom. When we pass from this life to the next, Jesus will be waiting on the other side. In heaven, there will no longer be any pain, sin, or death. We will no longer have to endure the painful side effects of the fall of mankind.
Jesus’ Kingdom will soon become a reality for us, and we can use this as a motivation to keep our hearts focused on Him. We don’t need to drift after the teachings of the world or become one with the world. Instead, we need to stand for God and continue to obey Him even when we face attacks of the devil and the byproducts of a fallen world. Stand strong under the power of the Lord’s mighty hand and know that He will bring you safely to His heavenly Kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18).
Dear Jesus, I praise You for Your goodness and grace. It is because of Your sacrifice on the cross that I can be freed from this body of suffering. I look forward to Your Kingdom, and I speed it’s coming. I love You, Lord. In Your Name, I pray, Amen.”
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If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.
Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
Originally published Monday, 09 September 2024.
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