LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“For here we do not have an enduring city,
but we are looking for the city that is to come.”
(Hebrews 13:14)

MEDITATION:
Do you ever think to yourself,
    “I wish the city I live in was better”?

When you look at the overloaded roads, the traffic snarls due to poor
traffic flow, the crime, the blight of abandoned houses, the empty lots
with overgrown weeds, the streets that need to repaved, the lighting
that needs to be added or repaired, and the poor management of city
finances by the ones in charge, you may think about the improvements
you would like to see, but you don’t anticipate them happening.

Of course, not all of these may be the issues in the city where you live,
but there is a high probability that some of them exist. Even if your
city government is managing the budget and taking care of the other
needs mentioned above, there is still the issue of rising crime that is
unpredictable, and difficult to eliminate.

Your city’s police force can be doing an excellent job, but they
cannot be everywhere at the same time. Anytime there is an
absence of authority, people with improper thoughts feel free
to commit criminal acts without any consideration of having
any consequences for their actions. Crime can cause a constant
nervousness and fear in the residents of a city.

Even if we were to live in the finest city in the world, it is still
not a utopia (a perfect place). However, for believers there is a
utopian city that we can look forward to living in one day. It is
a future promised to us by God.

The scriptures tell us that we should keep our focus on the goodness
of that city, rather than allowing ourselves to become depressed over
the problems of where we are currently living.

God’s Word just makes sense, doesn’t it? Because He has given us
the capacity for reasoning and understanding, we know how we can
become pessimistic if we continually focus only on the ‘negatives’.
But when our thoughts are on the ‘positives’, we can be encouraged
and have a much brighter outlook while we live our life in this world.

We all have many desires, and they can be different for each person,
but all of us have a strong desire to live on and on. We have a natural
desire for self-preservation, don’t we? We may become overwhelmed
by the aches and pains we experience, and we may get tired of dealing
with them, but we don’t seem to get tired of life itself.

Isn’t it fantastic to know that we worship a God who has made
arrangements to satisfy the desire of our souls? Our desire to
be free from pain, sickness and trouble, and to live forever. We
are small creatures with big capacities, who demand much, but
deserve little.

God knows we are that way because He made us, and He is the
One who can completely satisfy our desires. We have a heart
so big that only God can fill it to its entire capacity. Let that
resonate with you for a moment. God can completely fill our
hearts with goodness, righteousness, and hope!

Mankind tries to find other ways of filling our heart’s desires,
but nothing the world has to offer, will ever satisfy what only
God can fulfill. God has given us so much, but mankind will
find ways to corrupt and abuse His gifts of goodness.

God has given us medicine, but mankind has distorted His gift
and created destructive drugs, in an effort to provide a numbing
effect on our disappointments and discouragements.

God has given us intimate relationships to be enjoyed within
the confines of marriage, but mankind has corrupted His gift
and created lust, adultery and pornography in an effort to
provide worldly pleasure.

God has promised to provide for our needs, but mankind has
tried to convince us that His provisions are not enough and
we need more if we expect to be happy. As a result of mankind’s
efforts and the world’s influence, we live in a world filled with
jealousy, greed, theft and even murder, as many are traveling
the ‘worldly road’ in their pursuit of happiness.

We can see why God has created a new city for those who belong
to Him, and why He encourages us to look past the problems we
see in this world. God has done so much to prove to us that He
truly loves us, and it is His desire that “none should perish, but
all should have everlasting life”.

God’s own Son went to the cross to become a sacrifice for our sins
and He is preparing our permanent place of residence for eternity.
It is a place that our finite minds cannot even imagine, but we know
that whatever He prepares for us will be perfect!

ACTION:
Where is your focus? Are you focusing on the feeble attempts
of the world to satisfy your desires, or have you cast you hope
on what God has prepared for those who love Him?

Are you allowing the things of this world to have a discouraging
impact on you, or have you invited the Lord into your life and
allowed the Holy Spirit to fill you with encouragement each day
as you look forward to your new home?

Have you yielded to the Lord completely? Is He in control of your
life, or are you still guiding yourself? We cannot expect others to
experience His love through us if we don’t allow God to have His
rightful place in our hearts and lives.

When God speaks to you through His Word or through others, do
you resist His voice or become offended at what He is asking you
to do? Do you resent it when others are encouraging you to obey
the Lord? What areas of your life are you still trying to control?
You know (and God knows) the areas of your life that you have
not yielded to Him.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for not allowing You to guide
me on a daily basis. Forgive me for ignoring, or resisting the
things that You desire of me personally. Thank You Jesus, for
showing Your love for me by sacrificing Your own desires and
going to the cross for me. Help me to show my love for You by
sacrificing my own desires and obeying Your desires for me.
Your Word tells me that one of Your desires is for me to join
with others in worshipping and praising You. If I am guilty
of allowing other things to prevent me from obeying any of
Your commands, I pray that this will be the start of a new
life for me and I will discover the importance of worshipping
with other believers. Thank You for preparing a place for me
that I can look forward to when I leave this world. When times
are difficult for me, I pray that You will remind me of my future
home, and encourage me to remember that I am only passing
through the world I am living in now. God, You have shown
Your great love for me in so many ways, help me to prove to
You how much I love You in return.”

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