November 05, 2014
Homesick
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy](Ecclesiastes 3:11AMP).
Friend to Friend
Our culture has made very little of heaven and tried desperately to create heaven here on earth. Advertisers bank on the idea that people really think this is as good as it gets. Modern man engages in ceaseless activity and amusement to distract himself from considering what comes next. Even the prayer life of Christians shows just how little we think of heaven. We spend more time praying for the sick (which keeps them out of heaven) than we do praying for the salvation of unbelievers (which could keep them out of hell).
For years I read 1 Corinthians 2:9 and wondered just what God had planned for me here on earth. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” My nearsightedness kept these words earthbound. Not once did I consider that God could have been speaking of all that He has planned for me in eternity…until I began writing the book A Sudden Glory. But through the study of the glory ache and God’s balm of sudden glories that brim from living in sacred union, I have begun to realize that total healing will come when I finally make it home. The door upon which I have been knocking all my life will finally swing open when I step into eternity.
The glory ache will not be satisfied by working harder or by doing more, but by living a life of sacred union in which Acts 17:28 becomes a practical and perpetual reality in your life. The glory ache can be soothed by erasing the lines that separate the sacred from the secular so that every endeavor becomes an act of worship.
By joining God’s continual conversation as He pursues you, romances you, and speaks to you first one way and then another. By daring to raise your expectations and enter into His world.
By taking His hand and joining Him in the divine dance of obedience where you follow His lead in a unique choreography designed just for you.
By opening the windows of heaven through words of gratitude and grace.
In each of these venues, God softly announces His presence through shimmering hues of radiance, tapping gently at your consciousness and seeking entrance into the moments of your day.
But even then…the glory ache will not go away completely, for we see as through a glass dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12). The dull throb of “homesickness” will remain until we see Him face-to-face and experience the joy of His presence in unrestricted ecstasy. Until then, God gives us glimpses of glory here on earth.
Glimpses, they come and they go. The choir stops. The sunset fades. The rose drops its petals. The kiss ceases. Thunder quiets. The wind stills. The stars disappear in the morning light. We want to live in a constant state of awe, but we can’t. Our human limitations won’t allow it. Our minds, our bodies, our emotions couldn’t contain it. The circuitry of our humanness would overload.
So I stand in the cleft of the rock with Moses as God holds His hand over my face, and allows me to look at His back as His glory passes by (Exodus 33:18-23). How I thank Him for moments of sudden glory that tide me over until I’m finally home.
Let’s Pray
God, sometimes I ache to go home. I am so homesick. I might not know what to call that empty feeling in my soul, I might try to soothe the ache with all sorts of worldly vices. But in the end, I know it’s homesickness…the ache for glory. Until then, open my eyes to see You as I live and move in this temporary home.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
List 5 things about heaven that you are looking forward to. Oh, why not do 10!
Click over to my Facebook and let’s compare notes.
More From the Girlfriends
Do you long to feel close to God but feel like there’s something missing? That you’ve missed that mysterious formula to make it happen? Do you have a glory ache—a persistent longing to experience God’s presence and working in your life, but you’re not quite sure how to make it happen? If so, my book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More, is just for you. Join me in discovering how to erase the lines between the secular and the sacred and experience a deeper more intimate relationship with God than ever before. While you’re there, you can download a free chapter or watch a video book trailer.
Seeking God?
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Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 1311
Huntersville, NC 28070
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