The Best is Yet to Come

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

At a first glance of reading this, you might think whether this writer really knew much about suffering. How can his troubles be light and momentary, while mine are hard and never ending? If only he had seen my life – I am endlessly sick, I have no time for family or friends, I can’t work….  

Brother! Sister! Let me tell you - Paul, a passionate follower of Jesus, wrote this passage and he, by no means, had an ‘easy’ life. In 2 Corinthians 11:24, we read that five times Paul received forty lashes, three times he was beaten with rods, once stoned, three times shipwrecked and constantly in danger at sea and from bandits, countrymen, Gentiles and false brothers.  He went long periods without sleep, battling hunger, thirst and cold, all whilst facing the  daily pressure of his concern for all the churches.

That’s a long list; so why in the world would Paul think that these troubles were “light” and “momentary”. Was he delusional? Did he love being persecuted? Did he enjoy being shamed? Of course not! He was hurt by the pain he faced, just like we are.

So if that’s not the case, maybe, we should re-read verse 17.  “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Paul appears to be making a comparison between his troubles and the eternal glory we have in Christ.  What he is trying to say is that all these sufferings and struggles, as horrible and painful as they are, are nothing when compared to our inheritance in Christ. If these are our troubles, our joy in heaven will be that much greater!

Earlier in 2 Corinthians, in chapter 4, verse 14, Paul reminds us that God, who raised Jesus from the dead, will also raise us to be with Him and share in the above inheritance.  In 1 Peter 1:3-5, Peter, another passionate follower of Jesus, tells us about the glorious inheritance that awaits us because of Jesus – an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade. This is our joy, this is our inheritance – being adopted into God’s family and living with him forever. No harm or suffering in this world could compare to this joy that will be ours.

Does that seem a little incredulous?  Do you find that hard to believe?

Think of this – A woman in labour goes through unimaginable pain to have her child. This could take hours or even days. Childbirth has been described as one of the world’s most painful experiences; still, women go through this willingly all the time. Why?

Because of that moment - the moment when the nurse hands over the baby, when she holds him/her in her arms for the first time; she knows that it’s worth it. All the pain, hurt and suffering she went through cannot be compared to the joy, honour and the privilege of being a mother to that beautiful baby. It will be the same, if not more, with us when we go to heaven. I am sure that there will not be a soul in heaven who does not think that all of life’s suffering, were light and momentary compared to the eternal glory they then have.

Friends! What are your troubles? What causes you pain? Is it unemployment sickness, poverty, hunger or thirst? 

Do not lose heart. If you believe in Jesus and accept His death in your place, your eternal glory awaits you, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for you. 

Remember your troubles are temporary since your eternal life with Jesus will last forever and forever. Hold on to your inheritance, in faith, which is freely given to you through Jesus Christ.

This post is adapted from my contributions to EbenDavid Ministries & Charities newsletter. 

Jesus help me...

I got this prayer from one of my best friends & I thought it was quite beautiful so I want to share it with you:

Jesus help me

In every need, let me come to you with humble trust,
Jesus help me!

In all my doubts, perplexities and temptations,
Jesus help me!

In hours of loneliness, weariness and trials,
Jesus help me!

In the failure of my plans and hopes,
In disappointments, troubles and sorrow,
Jesus help me!

When others fail me,
And your grace alone can assist me,
Jesus help me!

When my heart is cast down by failure,
At seeing no good come from my efforts,
Jesus help me!

When I feel impatient and my cross irritates me,
Jesus help me!

When I am ill,
And my head and hands cannot work,
And I am lonely,
Jesus help me!

Always, always, in spite of weakness, falls and shortcomings of every kind,
Jesus help me!
And never forsake me, Amen!

I dream.......

Today, I want to share with you something quite personal. To give you a bit of background, I wrote this when I had just started back at work (part-time), my health was still really difficult & I was feeling totally overwhelmed by everyone's expectations of me to be fine just because I looked it & of course, their resulting disappointing looks when I couldn't run with them to catch the train or climb up the stairs instead of the escalator.
God encouraged me during this time, to remember that this world is not perfect. In fact, it is not even good. Like Paul says, we as Christians, along with all creation, are groaning with expectation for the new world, the new heavens and the new earth God has made for his people.

Hope this encourages you,as you groan with expectation for God's world, to keep hoping & to keep your hope in God.

I dream (c) 2012
I dream of a new world,
A place far better than this;
Somewhere with no pain.
I dream of an age with sun
That doesn't blind,
And light that doesn't burn
A morning that gives birth to life, not agony
A day that doesn't strip
A year's worth of life from each.

I dream of a time when people look at me
And see who I am, not just how I look;
A place that accepts just me
Not my lists of dones & yet-do's,
Where people stop looking enough to see
the tears in my heart,
And the broken pieces in my hand.

I dream of an age when the weak & poor are no more,
When man considers each other as brothers, not strangers
When love lasts and endures
And a reaching hand finds a lasting heart.

I dream of a world where war is behind us,
Where fear & hate are not our sole dictators,
Where pride can only be read of in books
And natural disasters are buried with the dinosaurs.

I dream of a place that speaks
And revels in pure joy;
One with smiles & laughter
Ear to ear.
I dream of passion & zeal
Directed at the true maker
Where faith is applauded instead of ridiculed
And hearts are bound to sleeves.

I dream of a world where thoughts are shared,
Over more than social media or blogs;
Where each listen more than speaks,
One where rights are not more costly than Armani
I dream of perfection, not in deed but heart.

You may think I'm silly
A fool clinging to worthless ideas.
My world doesn't exist yet
No matter how hard I try.
You can scoff
Say that I'll be alone forever
That may be true
But I can still dream
And one day my dreams will come true
That is a promise, from me to you.

Till then, I wish to sleep.
If only, just to dream.

"But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?" Romans 8:24b

Longing for God, not just his house

Over the past couple of months, I've been reading through the Book of Isaiah and it has given me great joy to see all that Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah, being fulfilled perfectly in Jesus.
But it really made me wonder: why did Jews persistently believe that Jesus was not the one who Isaiah was referring to? How did they manage to miss it?

To understand why, I think we need to put ourselves in the shoes of Jews of Jesus' time:
1. They had waited a long time for their Messiah to arrive. They had heard prophecies from Isaiah, from Jeremiah and from so many other prophets about who he was going to be, and they had waited for him for centuries.
2. They had suffered greatly. Their wait was not a comfortable, joyous one. They had suffered war, exile and enemy rulers, finally culminating in the rule of Caesar & the Roman empire in Jesus' time.
3. They were desperate for freedom, for Israel to be restored to all its former glory. And no doubt, the Messiah was promised to bring God's people together under God's rule again, which we, post-Jesus Christians, are able to see fulfilled in part spiritually and will be fulfilled completely, when Jesus returns and takes us to be with him & God for eternity.
When Jesus came to the Jews, he did not fit their expectations of Him. Jesus did not overthrow the Roman empire. Instead, he taught and then, he died. To these Jews, to believe in Jesus, as Messiah, would have meant accepting another long, arduous wait to see God's people restored fully to Himself. And for some of them, it was too much to face; too hard to believe it was true.

I wonder if we are much different these days. As post-Jesus-Christians struggling with chronic illness, we too have waited for what seems like a long time to be free from the bondage of our illnesses. We too have suffered greatly, each enduring and carrying the weight of our poor health and relational isolation. We too are desperate to be restored to fullness, to finally be physically free to be who God made us to be. Unfortunately, this means that we too are in danger of forgetting who God is and has revealed himself to be now.

Friends, do you ever find yourself day dreaming about heaven, about that moment when you'll receive your resurrection body and finally know what it is like to breathe/walk/worship/etc without pain? I'm definitely not saying that this is an evil thing to do, but consider this: If you could have heaven right now, with no sickness, pain and a fully restored body, with all the friends you've ever had on earth and all the food and activities you've ever liked/enjoyed and all the natural beauties you've ever seen and no human conflicts or disasters, could you be satisfied with this heaven if God was not there? 

I think as Christians, and even more so as Christians who battle life-long chronic illness, we need to be ever vigilant & prayerful to ensure we do not forget what heaven is truly about; what Jesus actually accomplished for us on the cross - ie. a restored relationship with God and what we will receive in heaven - a life forever walking with our God.


God, thank you that Jesus is the Messiah that you spoke of, through the prophets. Thank you that because He died and rose from the dead, that our relationship with you is restored & we can be your sons & daughters again. Please help us never stop longing for the day when you fully restore this world. But as we look forward to that day when Jesus returns and calls us to heaven, help us long to spend eternity with You, and not just with your great gifts that are ours in Christ. 

Hakuna Matata!

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." 
Matthew 6:33-34

To be honest, I am one of the world's biggest worriers (not to be confused with warriors, of course).
If it was one thing I was most accomplished at since I was a kid, it was worrying. I worried about grades, what people thought of me, but also about what my grandkids would be like, how I wanted to be buried & what I would do if I became victim to a hurricane. If there was a Noble prize for worrying, I'm sure to have been nominated.

Since I became a follower of Jesus, my worrying had eased substantially. However, an unbelievably unfortunate series of events including fibromyalgia, difficult family circumstances & a significant increased disability to serve has resulted in my old worrying habits sneaking its way back into my life.
What if I continue to get sicker? What if I never get to have a career or have children? What I am never able to  serve God? Now if you have these or similar worries/concerns, let me not discourage you too harshly. Some of these are good questions to have. But the question du jour is: should we worry about them?

Jesus' answer, in this passage, is NO!

1. There is no added value by worrying[v27], unless you value extra grey hairs/wrinkles.
None of us can change a circumstance by worrying about it. Me worrying about whether I am going to get worse certainly can't help me get better!

2. God will provide for us!
Jesus, in this passage, compares us to the birds of the air & the lilies of the field. He tells us that the fact that they are surviving and growing beautifully is evidence enough that God provides for them. If he provides for them, how much more will be provide for us, who are his adopted children in Christ! Sometimes, it is so easy to forget that the God of this entire universe is for us, loves us & takes cares of us as our Father. Is he not big enough & good enough to help us survive our darkest days?

3. Each day has enough trouble.
 This is absolutely true & perhaps, even more visibly true for those of us who struggle with chronic illness. I don't know about you, but when I wake up each morning, I wonder how I am going to make it through the day. How will I do a good job at work? How will I sustain my energy during the day? There's just no time to think of tomorrow! In fact these days, I'm struggling to make plans even two days in advance.

So how should we act instead, amidst circumstances that would otherwise be worrying?

Jesus says we are to seek first God's kingdom, knowing that all our other needs are known & met by our Father. This involves a radical change of thought in our lives. It involves resolving to look beyond yourself & to pray for things that God is involved in doing in this world.

I tried doing this a couple of weeks ago. I resolved that just for one week, I was not going to pray for my daily needs. For one week, I was going to pray solely for the work God was doing through my church, missionaries,aid organisations. For one week, I was going to pray for my friends who didn't know Jesus & for opportunities to share the gospel with them. To be honest, I could not have picked a worse week to do it. That week, I was pummelled by intense bouts of pain & fatigue. I was just about to resume working & it was a really stressful time. You know what I found? Even though I never prayed for myself, God answered every groaning in my heart. He brought relief when I was falling in pain, strength to endure & my start back at work went relatively smoothly.

Now, please hear me out. I am not saying that we shouldn't pray for our needs. Jesus encourages us later on in this very same gospel to give our concerns & cares to God. But by seeking first His kingdom, not only do we see just how generous & loving our God is but we also are reminded of a very counter-cultural truth: that the world does not really revolve around us.

So next time you are tempted to worry, remind yourself that God has & will provide for you and seek his Kingdom instead, in prayer & action.

T'was grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.